Fungal decay of viscoelastic thermal compressed (VTC) wood

Andreja Kutnar (1, 2) , Miha Humar (3) , Frederick A. Kamke (2) , Milan Sernek (3)

1 Primorska Institute for Natural Sciences and Technology
2 Department of Wood Science and Engineering
3 Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Wood Science and Technology

Low-density hybrid poplar ( × ) was densified with the viscoelastic thermal compression (VTC) process to three different degrees of densification (63%, 98%, and 132%). Durability of the VTC treated specimens was assessed by exposure to two white rot fungi ( and for four or eight weeks. After incubation, mass loss in grams and percentage mass loss were determined. The results showed that VTC densification did not change decay resistance to and . The mass losses caused by were more extensive than those by . As expected, longer exposure time resulted in higher mass loss. Furthermore, the degree of densification did not influence susceptibility to fungal degradation.

Mots clés: Physical Sciences

Andreja Kutnar, Miha Humar, Frederick A. Kamke, Milan Sernek. Fungal decay of viscoelastic thermal compressed (VTC) wood. European Journal of Wood and Wood Products, 2010, 69 (2), pp.325-328. ⟨10.1007/s00107-010-0432-z⟩. ⟨hal-00594486⟩