Towards modelling of decay risk of wooden materials

H. Viitanen (1) , T. Toratti (1) , L. Makkonen (1) , R. Peuhkuri (1) , T. Ojanen (1) , L. Ruokolainen (2) , J. Räisänen (2)

1 VTT - VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
2 Department of Physics [Helsinki]

An empirical model for wood decay development which can be incorporated into a hygrothermal model of building physics is presented. The model is applied to the ERA-40 reanalysis data, based on six-hour weather observations in Europe, to estimate wood decay in different parts of Europe. These studies provide new tools for evaluating the durability and service life of wooden products and a preliminary European wood decay risk level map. The effects of the projected climate change on wood decay may also be considered by this methodology.

Mots clés: Physical Sciences

H. Viitanen, T. Toratti, L. Makkonen, R. Peuhkuri, T. Ojanen, et al.. Towards modelling of decay risk of wooden materials. European Journal of Wood and Wood Products, 2010, 68 (3), pp.303-313. ⟨10.1007/s00107-010-0450-x⟩. ⟨hal-00599240⟩