Studies of wooden cladding materials degradation by spectroscopy

Abstract

Claddings or façades are the outer part of building envelopes. In this study, wooden claddings are exposed to natural and accelerated weathering. The natural climate exposure was performed at a field test site located in Trondheim, Norway. Accelerated climate exposure was performed in the laboratory in an Atlas SC600 MHG solar simulator. Attenuated total reflectance – Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy was used to characterise surfaces. The objective was to assess degradation by use of FTIR and thereby see how this may be applied to evaluate the service life of wood. Four types of wooden materials were studied; three untreated and one treated with chromated copper arsenate. Surface concentrated cellulose and lignin are the primary wood components used to determine the quality and durability of wood during ageing. It was found that treatment with preservative chemicals and surface roughness has definitive impacts on cladding surfaces and change to the chemical properties of the materials during ageing. The acceleration factor deduced from the Arrhenius equation shows that an increase in temperature lowers the service life of cellulose at a higher rate than the other wood components.