Mycologg: a new accelerated test method for wood durability above ground
If not properly handled, selected and protected, wood will be degraded by bacteria, fungi and also insects. In order to ensure service life, durability tests are needed. Most accelerated laboratory tests on wood durability are focused either on fungi attacks or the uptake of moisture. Accelerated field tests in ground contact are of limited use since they could be difficult to reproduce and are sensitive to the characteristics of the soil in which the wood is placed. In addition, the results cannot be directly transferred to wood in use above ground because such wood is subjected to different set of conditions. The Mycologg is a new accelerated test method for estimating the durability of wood in above ground applications. The Mycologg allows the test panels to be subjected to the discolouring fungi and different RH (relative humidity) cycles simultaneously. Every 30 min, the temperature, the RH, and the moisture content in each test panel are measured and saved in special software. This allows for a constant update of the moisture patterns during a fungi attack. A trial was made with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) heartwood samples, where fungal growth after 6, 8 and 10 weeks in the Mycologg were compared to weather exposure of duplicate samples after 12, 16, and 26 months. The results showed that 10 weeks into the Mycologg accelerated test method corresponds well to real-time weather exposure with respect to fungal discolouration.
A critical literature review of moisture and temperature conditions in wood exposed outdoors above ground
Summary In the majority of the field studies reviewed in this report samples were exposed outdoors above ground and only the average moisture content was determined. Therefore, no information is given about the moisture content in joints and other moisture traps. In many of the field studies, information on relative humidity, temperature, rainfalls etc. is missing and consequently these field studies cannot be used for relating the level of moisture content in the wood to the climate. Since the field studies are comparative studies it is, however, possible to summarise which parameters, wood properties and handling conditions, that do or do not affect the moisture uptake of wood. In some of the studies, factors affecting the growth of the tree are directly related to secondary wood properties such as the moisture uptake instead of to the primary wood properties such as density. The influence of different paint systems on the moisture content of wood has been widely studied. However, most studies only compare the effect of different paint systems or the impact of various end grain sealers. The impact of coating colour has also been studied. Few attempts have been made to study the impact of design on the moisture content. Most studies on this subject concern claddings. Studies on how duration of surface moisture is affected by design are also missing, as are studies relating climate to moisture content. (Less)
European Neutrality in Historical Perspective
This chapter places the neutrality policies of the established European neutral states—Austria, Finland, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland—in historical context. It explores the origins of neutrality in the idea of non-belligerency in war and the history of neutrality in modern European international politics, highlighting the way in which quite a wide variety of states were or sought to be neutral at various points in the nineteenth century or the first half of the twentieth century. The chapter then shows how the Cold War division of Europe resulted in Austria, Finland, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland (along with Yugoslavia) emerging as a distinctive neutral group of states between the two blocs. The chapter also reviews how the European neutral states’ foreign and security policies have adapted since the end of the Cold War. It finishes with some conclusions about neutrality in general and the neutrality of the established European neutral states in particular.