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Testing of poles by using acoustic pulse method

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Summary

Wood poles have been traditionally tested by “sounding” — striking with a hammer and making a subjective assessment on the basis of the sound emitted. Various other acoustic methods have been developed and employed for this function but none has been accepted on any regular basis as being successful. The propagation of acoustic waves in poles is examined here, and measurements are made using a pulse echo technique of the two acoustic parameters, velocity and damping, on a selection of poles some of which contain decay and rot. The results suggest that measurement of the acoustic damping of longitudinal compression waves may be useful in detecting the presence of decay and rot within a pole.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physics, The University of New South Wales, P. O. Box 1, 2033, Kensington, N.S.W., Australia

    J. I. Dunlop

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  1. J. I. Dunlop
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Additional information

The author wishes to thank the Council of the University of New South Wales for the allowance of Study Leave during which this work was carried out. Thanks must also be paid to Forintek Canada Corporation for their generous hospitality and to Canadian Electrical Industries and British Columbia Hydro Authority for their sponsorship of the project

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Dunlop, J.I. Testing of poles by using acoustic pulse method. Wood Sci.Technol. 15, 301–310 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350947

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350947

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