An Insight Into Beech Wood (Fagus Sylvatica L.) Degradation in Outdoors, Above Ground, Long-Time Exposure. Part 2: In-Time Evolution of Degradation, Destructive Evaluation After 7 Years and Influence of Exposure Situation

The paper is referring to some results of amodified L-Joint test, within which control andtreated beech wood samples were exposed andexamined periodically for 7 years. The long-termprotective effects of some surface treatments andthe in-time evolution of degradation in correlationwith the risk of wetting were examined, the paperbeing divided in two parts. The first part presentedthe complex degradation of wood and coatings, atmacroscopic and microscopic level after 7 years ofoutdoors, above ground exposure, employing a nondestructiveevaluation system.This second part of the paper deals with timesequences in beech wood degradation and in-timeevolution of the degradation phenomena as afunction of the exposure situation. Moreover,destructive evaluation of the samples after 7 years ofexposure offered a real insight into wooddegradation by revealing inner decay anddiscolouration as result of progress of thesedegradation types, from the tenon area or thesamples surface towards their interior.The surface treatments applied had only alimited protective effect on the evolution ofdegradation, while the differences between thedifferent investigated areas in correlation with therisk of wetting, induced a large variability in theexperimental data. However, this research revealedthe utility and versatility of the employed modified Ljointtest for a realistic evaluation of the potential of different treatments in improving beech performancein outdoor, above ground conditions.