Determination of the transverse Young’s modulus (TYM) of wood by means of an input power technique

The main goal of this study is to present an alternative non-destructive impact testing which can be used for the determination of the transverse Young’s modulus (TYM) of wood species. The method is based on the steady-state power injection method, which is a non-destructive acoustic impact testing for the in situ determination of dissipation and coupling loss factors of subsystems representing the physical system. The acoustic impact testing can be performed simply using a basic vibration test kit and an impedance tube, which is commonly used on the investigation of material acoustic impedance. The main advantages of this approach for predicting the TYM are twofold: reliability and cost-effectiveness. The test can be made simpler and in an ordinary quiet environment, as an adequate signal-to-noise ratio can be easily achieved. Besides, this technique allows physical insight into the behavior of structural–acoustic systems found in wood buildings. Numerical and analytical work is presented in order to validate the experimental tests. The minimum and maximum TYM values measured were 0.79 GPa and 1.27 GPa for the Imbuia and Ipe species respectively. It is seen that 86% of the observed variation in the dynamic TYM is attributable to the approximate linear relationship between the dynamic and static TYM, a very impressive result. In addition, the measured and calculated natural frequencies of the coupled system are presented. The relationship between them was significant. The species analyzed were as follows [1]: Amburana cearensis (Cerejeira), Cordia goeldiana Huber (Freijó), Ocotea porosa (Imbúia), Swietenia macrophylla (Mogno) and Tabebuia spp. (Ipê).

► Transverse Young’s modulus (TYM) can be obtained using the power injection method.
► This alternative method allows for the tests to be made in an ordinary room (floor noise up to 40 dB).
► It is seen that 86% of the TYM variation is attributable to the linear relationship between the dynamic and static TYM.
► The measured TYM values were 0.79 GPa and 1.27 GPa for the Ocotea porosa (Imbúia) and Tabebuia spp. (Ipê) respectively.