This paper reports the results from a study of modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR) of 42
small clear specimens prepared from 300 year old roundwood floor girders containing high levels of NaCl at
Bryggen in Bergen, Norway. NaCl concentration was 6.5 % of the dry matter of the wood. MOE and MOR were
25 % lower than the values obtained from a reference material with equivalent annual ring width and density.
The considerable reduction of MOE and MOR should be taken into consideration in conservation of load-
bearing wooden structures that have been exposed to NaCl.

Bryggen, the old wharf of Bergen, is a reminder of the town’s importance as part of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire from the 14th to the mid-16th century. Bryggen has since 1979 been on the UNESCO list for World Cultural Heritage sites, and comprises a series of Hanseatic commercial wooden buildings lining the eastern side of the fjord of Bergen.

Throughout history, Bryggen has experienced many fires, and after a fire in 1702 a large part had to be rebuilt. Recent restoration surveys of these more than 300 year old wooden buildings have revealed that some of the roundwood floor girders and underlying foundations appear still to be in good conditions. This was quite surprising because the structures consist of Scots pine roundwood. According to EN 350-2 [1] Scots pine heartwood is moderately to slightly durable against wood decaying fungi while the sapwood is non-durable. As the floor girders have been partly in contact with soil with high humidity on would expect severe decay of the wood after few years. However, there has been sign of salt crystals on the surface of the wood, and recent studies [4] have shown high concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl) in the wood. The high concentrations of NaCl in different timber structures in the buildings indicate that the historic storage of salt, repeated washing by use of salt water and/or spills of brine from the various fish products at Bryggen are the probable sources [3]. NaCl is known to protect wood from fungal deterioration but it can also reduce the mechanical properties of the wood [2].

The objective of this investigation was to study bending stiffness and strength of NaCl exposed wooden floor girders from Bryggen in Bergen, Norway. Bending stiffness and bending strength are wood properties that strongly affect the performance of load-bearing structures. A load-bearing structure should have sufficient strength to guarantee the desired level of structural safety and sufficient stiffness to meet the stability requirements. Bending stiffness is measured as the modulus of elasticity (MOE), or the beam’s resistance to bending. Bending strength is measured destructively as the modulus of rupture (MOR), which measures the maximum load a beam will carry before it ruptures.

For practical reasons it was not possible to measure MOE and MOR on full-scale floor girders dimensions. Small clear wood specimens (20 mm tang × 20 mm rad and 340 mm long) were prepared from air-dried wood samples collected from eight roundwood floor girders originating from the rebuilding after the fire in 1702. Only specimens with no sign of fungal decay were accepted, giving totally 42 specimens for the study. As a reference material 10 small clear wood specimens were prepared from freshly harvested Scots pine with similar annual ring width and wood density.

The specimens were conditioned in standard environment (20 ºC and 65 % relative humidity). Wood density was measured according to ISO 3131. MOE and MOR were calculated from data obtained by static bending in a universal test rig (Instron) according to ISO 3349 and ISO 3133. Figure 1 illustrates a fractured wood specimen after MOR testing.

Chemical analyses of wood discs from the floor girders showed that the wood contained high levels of NaCl, about 6.5 % of the dry matter of the outer parts of the roundwood girders, and about 5 % of the heartwood. This was far higher than the reference material from freshly harvested pinewood, which had a salt concentration of 0.1 %.

The results showed that mean MOE and MOR were approximately 25 % lower in the material from Bryggen compared with the reference material (Table 1). It is known that MOE and MOR are positively correlated with wood density. Therefore the reference material was collected to fit the density of the NaCl exposed material from Bryggen. Linear regressions between wood density and MOE or MOR of the Bryggen specimens also showed a normal pattern with positive correlation between these properties. This supports that the results from the mechanical tests reflect the effects of salt exposure and aging of the wood. Figure 2 displays the data for MOR and density. It can be seen that the reference material yields a higher MOR/density ratio than the material from Bryggen.