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Characteristic damage to treated wood caused by salt. (a) Treated deck boards exposed to frequent wetting of saltwater develop a fuzzy appearance. (b) Excessive use of de-icing salts can also cause salt damage as evidenced on these stair treads.
Source publication
Salt damage is a frequent problem in wood exposed to seawater and other saline environments. Symptoms of salt damage are often referred to as fuzzy wood and have been historically considered non-structural damage, but a growing number of customer inquiries have prompted a re-evaluation of this phenomenon. This paper details several case studies inv...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... increasing consumer inquiries about salt damaged wood have prompted further investigation of this issue. The issue of salt damage is not new to the wood protection industry and has always been treated as a curiosity that can frequently be seen on wood in and around coastal areas, as well as non-coastal areas through contact of wood with deicing salts (Figure 1). Parameswaran [1] detailed observations of defibered wood in potash storage areas, which typically have a very high pH. ...
Context 2
... of the hardness test indicated that, compared to sound Douglas-fir sapwood, the Janka hardness was reduced by approximately 25-30%. Preliminary results of the hardness tests conducted at FPL are presented in Figure 10. Prior literature does not address any mechanical impacts to wood as a result of salt damage. ...
Citations
... Previous research on salt damage in wood has only examined the physical changes that occur during salt damage, and no mechanical properties of salt-damaged wood are available. Although salt damage in wood was traditionally believed to be a cosmetic (nonstructural) concern, recently, a structural failure of salt-damaged wood has been observed on the ship Eureka located at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (Kirker et al 2016;Zelinka and Kirker 2018). The bilge of the Eureka was packed with salt to prevent fungal decay; one of the joists in the bilge exhibited a crushing failure where it met a support (Fig 2). ...
Salt damage in wood can be recognized by its stringy appearance and is frequently observed in wood used in maritime structures and buildings built near the ocean. Whereas salt-damaged wood is common, little is known about the mechanism by which salt water alters the wood structure. There is no information on the effects of salt damage on the mechanical properties of wood. In this study, a laboratory method for creating salt damage in other porous materials was applied to wood. Wood pillars were placed in a reservoir of 5MNaCl and exposed to a 40% RH environment. Capillary action pulled the salt water to the upper part of the pillars which were dry. Large deposits of effloresced salts were observed. The changes in mechanical properties caused by salt were measured by the high-energy multiple impact (HEMI) test. Salt damage caused a reduction in the resistance to impact milling (RIM) of 6.5%, and it was concluded that salt damage causes only minor effects on the strength of wood. The tests were not conclusive as to the exact mechanism of salt damage in treated wood. However,
diffusion of mineral ions through the cell wall was found to be a key step in the salt damage mechanism.
