Service life prediction of wood: scale-dependent tools within a bio-engineering framework

Service life prediction (SLP) is a complex yet essential method for the building industry. Accurate and precise assessment of the components is crucial for a strong position of wood on the market. As it is a biological material, wood has an inherent variability and is susceptible to fungal attack. Therefore a profound knowledge of these characteristics is the corner stone of SLP for wood products. Briefly, the theoretical background of SLP will be explained and the major part of this paper illustrates the use of different scale-dependent testing protocols: lab testing (ENV 12038), hybrid testing (FCU U+2013 Fungal Control Unit) and in-field testing (CMM U+2013 Continuous Moisture Monitoring) as tools for an estimation of performance life. Examples of moisture balance and decay of plywood will be given. Finally, in silico simulation of fungal growth will be mentioned briefly as a means to derive knowledge on decay from cyberfungal growth on a virtual substrate.