The overall objective of this study is to provide information to building design practitioners that will help to improve accuracy of hygrothermal models and enable them to better use these models to predict the durability and thermal performance of wood-based building envelopes. To achieve this, hygrothermal models using WUFI Pro software are validated with experimental data obtained from five wood-frame wall assemblies, with different insulation and vapour control strategies, exposed to the climatic conditions of Vancouver from October 2018 to May 2020. This exercise provides a set of model input parameters that the practitioner can use to assess similar structures exposed to similar environmental conditions. Sensitivity analysis is conducted on the model input parameters to establish which are the most important in obtaining a good fit to experimental measurements, and therefore accurate prediction of assembly performance. There is also discussion on limitations of the hygrothermal model.
The definitive guide for the mass timber design and construction of tall buildings has been updated to align with changes to national codes and standards. It builds on 12-storey mass timber gravity systems as an Acceptable Solution in the 2020 edition of the National Building Code, and targets supporting Alternative Solutions that will enable wood to be used beyond 12 storeys.
To download the book, go to: https://web.fpinnovations.ca/tallwood/
A catalogue listing of the various technology transfer opportunities offered by FPInnovations in forest operations for 2022 - 2023. Opportunities for technology transfer in harvesting, transportation, roads, connectivity, mill yards, GHG emissions, biomass, Indigenous forestry, drones as well as workshops, library, and on-line tools are detailed.
A summary of the forest operation research focus areas for 2022-02023 including fibre costs and value, fibre supply, forestry 4.0, workforce all in connection to sustainability and safety.
Relative humidity (RH) and temperature play a large role in the moisture content of available fuels, affecting the fire weather indices that indicate intensity, ignition, and spread potential of wildfires. However, the magnitude of increase in RH and decrease in temperature necessary to impact intensity and ignition potential is dependent on many additional factors including aspect, altitude, wind speed, atmospheric stability, fuel loading, fuel structure, and moisture content of the fuels.
Accounting for climate change impacts in the design of resource road crossings. Scaling IDF curves to account for climate change in resource road stream crossing, an approach for estimating future extreme rainfall, Webinar No. 8
A Webinar presented in association with the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC), FPInnovations and the BC Ministry of Forests, Land, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development presented on March 10, 2022
Trame vidéo
Media missing or not available.
An unexpected error occurred.
Update Required
To play the media you will need to update your
browser to a recent version, or update your Flash plugin.
In 2021, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s Wildfire Management Branch identified an opportunity to evaluate new and emerging technologies to supplement and improve current wildfire response capabilities. A one-year directed research initiative was undertaken with the FPInnovations’ Wildfire Operations group to assess the efficacy of five different technologies and their utility in the wildfire domain. This report summarizes the five projects undertaken in this initiative, highlighting key outcomes and considerations.
Pathogen detection and identification have been vastly improved with advances in genomics; however, knowledge gaps remain around efficacy and use in wood commodities, especially in regulatory settings. In part one of this project, we compared detection efficacy of different methods on common export and import forest products. In-situ detection was more sensitive than traditional isolation, with 100% detection rates for some methods. However, there were several false positives in control samples. False positive detection of quarantine pathogens on wood products could be a serious problem in trade. The goal of part two of this project was to determine the cause of the false positives. In addition, we continued to compare detection methods by looking at point of care detection with a portable qPCR system and using RNA assays to test pathogen viability. False positives were likely due to DNA contamination persisting through the various wood processing steps. These results confirm the need for additional confirmation of pathogen presence or viability after a positive DNA test. RNA assays failed to detect pathogen presence in most samples. Further testing is needed to determine optimal RNA extraction conditions to provide meaningful results. Point of care detection using portable tools was comparable to laboratory methods and would provide a useful tool for pre-screening commodities for the presence of quarantine pathogens.
To improve the accessibility of genomics for the identification of wood inhabiting microorganisms to FPInnovations’ members, we compared three different methods for metabarcoding on environmental DNA (eDNA): cloning with first generation Sanger sequencing, amplicon metabarcoding with second generation Illumina sequencing, and lastly amplicon metabarcoding with third generation, long read sequencing with the portable MinION. We looked at costs for each method, speed, and difficulty. Illumina metabarcoding was the most economically feasible method. Cloning was difficult, being prone to failure and requiring extensive trouble shooting to complete. Illumina metabarcoding must be outsourced which can take more time for project completion; however, little in-house troubleshooting is necessary. Third generation sequencing is an attractive alternative for routine analysis. It is rapid, low-cost, and takes little up-front capital for start-up. However, it may not be feasible if used infrequently given the time required to learn the technology and the rapid expiration of unused flow cells. For occasional projects, it is recommended to outsource amplicon metabarcoding to a facility that sequences either with second or third generation sequencers, including data analysis.
