Wood is one of the most important construction materials due to its renewability, favourable mechanical properties and wide applicability; however, it is at the same time susceptible to biological degradation, mainly caused by fungi and insects. In the case of already installed wooden elements, especially in existing buildings and objects of cultural heritage, replacement of the material is often not possible, and therefore remediation is of key importance for maintaining the load-bearing capacity and durability of structures. In recent years, due to environmental and health issues, interest in non-biocidal methods of wood protection has been increasing, among which thermal remediation plays an important role. In this master’s thesis, the influence of different heating methods on wood's mechanical properties and the quality of adhesive joints was investigated. The experimental part included heating of wood using contact heaters and a microwave method under different temperature regimes and exposure times. After heating, the samples were conditioned and then mechanically tested in order to determine the bending strength and modulus of elasticity. In addition, the effects of heating on the shear strength of the adhesive joint and the failure mode were analysed. The results showed that under the applied heating conditions no statistically significant deterioration of the mechanical properties of wood occurred, while mass losses were negligible. Furthermore, heating did not negatively affect the quality of the adhesive joint. The findings confirm that thermal remedial wood protection is a suitable and effective method of remediation, which enables preservation of the mechanical functionality of wood without the use of biocidal agents.
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