Dr. Brendan Nicholas Marais


Research interests

  • Wood protection
  • Wood degradation
  • Durability and service-life of wood and wood-based products
  • Moisture monitoring of wooden elements

Dissertation

  • Durability of Wood in Ground Contact: Modelling the Effect of Biotic and Abiotic Factors
  • Supervisor: PD Dr. Christian Brischke

  • Projects

    • HyLight - Energy-efficient production of complex-shaped, multifunctional and recyclable lightweight products made of wood and bioplastics using automatic injection-moulding machines
    • WoodLCC - Enabling robust and precise Life-Cycle-Costing (LCC) based on input from novel models for detailed service life performance specification for wooden components and buildings
    • CEMWOGEO - Cement coating of wood for geotechnical applications
    • CemSleeper - Cement coating of wood for railway applications
    • CLICK DESIGN - Delivering fingertip knowledge to enable service life performance specification of wood


    Teaching

    Supervision of student theses (for reasons of data protection law, the authors names are withheld)

    Master theses

    2021

  • The potential of detecting wood decay using photoacoustic imaging: a review
  • 2020

  • Impact of soil temperature on the decay rate of European beech wood

  • Bachelor theses

    2020

  • Studies on the effect of soil type on the decay rate of selected wood species
  • 2019

  • Impact of soil water-holding capacity and soil moisture content on decay rate of selected timbers

  • Project theses

    2021

  • Cement treatment of wood for geotechnical use - An electron microscopic analysis
  • 2020

  • The effect of a cement coating on European Beech and Norway Spruce wood - studies into fungal durability and brittleness

  • Publications

    generated by bibbase.org
      2024 (2)
    Decay hazard of wood exposed in-ground in changing climates in Germany. van Niekerk, P. B.; Marais, B. N.; Alfredsen, G.; and Brischke, C. Wood Material Science & Engineering, 0(0): 1–8. 2024. Publisher: Taylor & Francis _eprint: https://doi.org/10.1080/17480272.2024.2408650
    Decay hazard of wood exposed in-ground in changing climates in Germany [link]Paper   doi   link   bibtex   abstract  
    Acetyliertes Buchen-Furnierlagenholz für tragende Anwendungen: Furniere und Verklebung. Slabohm, M.; Emmerich, L.; Marais, B. N.; Brischke, C.; and Militz, H. In Deutsche Holzschutztagung 2024, pages 182–193, Dresden, 2024. IHD
    link   bibtex  
      2023 (2)
    Modelling in-ground wood decay using time-series retrievals from the 5th European climate reanalysis (ERA5-Land). Marais, B. N.; Schönauer, M.; van Niekerk, P. B.; Niklewski, J.; and Brischke, C. European Journal of Remote Sensing, 56(1): 2264473. December 2023. Publisher: Taylor & Francis _eprint: https://doi.org/10.1080/22797254.2023.2264473
    Modelling in-ground wood decay using time-series retrievals from the 5th European climate reanalysis (ERA5-Land) [link]Paper   doi   link   bibtex   abstract  
    The effect of weathering on the surface moisture conditions of Norway spruce under outdoor exposure. Niklewski, J.; Van Niekerk, P. B.; and Marais, B. N. Wood Material Science & Engineering, 18(4): 1394–1404. July 2023.
    The effect of weathering on the surface moisture conditions of Norway spruce under outdoor exposure [link]Paper   doi   link   bibtex  
      2022 (9)
    Laminated Veneer Lumber Made From Cement-Impregnated Veneers. Hirschmüller, S.; Kovryga, A.; Unterberger, S.; Larbig, H.; Marais, B.; Brischke, C.; van de Kuilen, J.; and Krey, A. In Proceedings of 10th European Conference on Wood Modification, pages 108–111, Nancy, France, April 2022. University of Lorraine
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    Wood durability in terrestrial and aquatic environments – A review of biotic and abiotic influence factors. Marais, B. N.; Brischke, C.; and Militz, H. Wood Material Science & Engineering, 17(2): 82–105. 2022. Publisher: Taylor & Francis _eprint: https://doi.org/10.1080/17480272.2020.1779810
    Wood durability in terrestrial and aquatic environments – A review of biotic and abiotic influence factors [link]Paper   doi   link   bibtex   abstract  
    Dauerhaftigkeit im Erdkontakt – Einfluss von Feuchte, Temperatur und biologischer Bodenaktivität. Marais, B. N. In 31. Deutsche Holzschutztagung, Dresden, Germany, 2022.
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    Simulations of microclimates for wood-decaying fungi in the built environment using environmental analysis. Van Niekerk, P.; Niklewski, J.; Hosseini, S. H.; Marais, B. N.; Frimannslund, I.; Kringlebotn Thiis, T; and Brischke, C. In Proceedings IRG Annual Meeting, Bled, Slovenia, May 2022.
    doi   link   bibtex  
    Using satellite-retrieved soil moisture data to model the decay risk of in-ground timber. Van Niekerk, P.; Schönauer, M.; Marais, B. N.; and Brischke, C. In Proceedings IRG Annual Meeting, Bled, Slovenia, May 2022.
    doi   link   bibtex  
    Studies into the effect of soil type and soil layer on the in-ground decay of European beech. Marais, B. N.; Kovacs, S.; Jansen, M.; and Brischke, C. In Proceedings IRG Annual Meeting, Bled, Slovenia, May 2022.
    doi   link   bibtex  
    Mapping the biotic degradation hazard of wood in Europe – biophysical background, engineering applications, and climate change-induced prospects. van Niekerk, P. B.; Marais, B. N.; Brischke, C.; Borges, L. M.; Kutnik, M.; Niklewski, J.; Ansard, D.; Humar, M.; Cragg, S. M.; and Militz, H. Holzforschung, 76(2): 188–210. February 2022.
    Mapping the biotic degradation hazard of wood in Europe – biophysical background, engineering applications, and climate change-induced prospects [link]Paper   doi   link   bibtex   abstract   1 download  
    The effect of weathering on the surface moisture conditions of Norway spruce under outdoor exposure. Niklewski, J.; Van Niekerk, P. B.; and Marais, B. N. Wood Material Science & Engineering,1–11. December 2022.
    The effect of weathering on the surface moisture conditions of Norway spruce under outdoor exposure [link]Paper   doi   link   bibtex   abstract  
    The effect of weathering on the surface moisture conditions of Norway spruce under outdoor exposure. Niklewski, J.; van Niekerk, P. B.; and Marais, B. N. Wood Material Science & Engineering, 0(0): 1–11. December 2022. Publisher: Taylor & Francis _eprint: https://doi.org/10.1080/17480272.2022.2144444
    The effect of weathering on the surface moisture conditions of Norway spruce under outdoor exposure [link]Paper   doi   link   bibtex   abstract  
      2021 (4)
    Mapping the Present and Future Fungal Decay Hazard of Aboveground Wood in Europe. Marais, B. N.; Van Niekerk, P. B.; Niklewski, J.; Brischke, C.; and Militz, H. In Proceedings of the 17th annual meeting of the Northern European Network for Wood Science and Engineering (WSE 2021), pages 60–62, Kaunas, Lithuania, October 2021.
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    Studies into Fungal Decay of Wood in Ground Contact—Part 2: Development of a Dose–Response Model to Predict Decay Rate. Marais, B. N.; van Niekerk, P. B.; and Brischke, C. Forests, 12(6): 698. May 2021.
    Studies into Fungal Decay of Wood in Ground Contact—Part 2: Development of a Dose–Response Model to Predict Decay Rate [link]Paper   doi   link   bibtex   abstract   2 downloads  
    Modelling the Material Resistance of Wood—Part 1: Utilizing Durability Test Data Based on Different Reference Wood Species. Alfredsen, G.; Brischke, C.; Marais, B. N.; Stein, R. F. A.; Zimmer, K.; and Humar, M. Forests, 12(5): 558. April 2021.
    Modelling the Material Resistance of Wood—Part 1: Utilizing Durability Test Data Based on Different Reference Wood Species [link]Paper   doi   link   bibtex   abstract   2 downloads  
    Weathering Stability and Durability of Birch Plywood Modified with Different Molecular Weight Phenol-Formaldehyde Oligomers. Grinins, J.; Biziks, V.; Marais, B. N.; Rizikovs, J.; and Militz, H. Polymers, 13(2): 175. January 2021.
    Weathering Stability and Durability of Birch Plywood Modified with Different Molecular Weight Phenol-Formaldehyde Oligomers [link]Paper   doi   link   bibtex   abstract  
      2020 (2)
    Studies into Fungal Decay of Wood In Ground Contact—Part 1: The Influence of Water-Holding Capacity, Moisture Content, and Temperature of Soil Substrates on Fungal Decay of Selected Timbers. Marais, B. N.; Brischke, C.; Militz, H.; Peters, J. H.; and Reinhardt, L. Forests, 11(12): 1284. November 2020.
    Studies into Fungal Decay of Wood In Ground Contact—Part 1: The Influence of Water-Holding Capacity, Moisture Content, and Temperature of Soil Substrates on Fungal Decay of Selected Timbers [link]Paper   doi   link   bibtex   abstract   4 downloads  
    Wood protection with cement – Part 1: Coating matters and durability of cement coated wood. Hirschmüller, S.; Marais, B.; Brischke, C.; Krey, A.; and Bösing, J. In Proceedings IRG Annual Meeting, pages 25, online, webinar, June 2020.
    doi   link   bibtex   abstract   1 download  
      2019 (1)
    Studies on the durability of European Beech wood in ground contact: understanding the effect of biotic and abiotic factors. Marais, B.; Brischke, C.; and Peters, J. In Proceedings of the 15th Annual Meeting of the Northern European Network on Wood Science and Engineering (WSE), pages 95–97, Lund, Sweden, October 2019.
    link   bibtex