Acoustic segregation and structural timber production.

Concerns about changes in the quality of the maturing British spruce resource (principally stiffness) have raised doubts about maintaining strength grading pass-rates. Acoustic (or stress wave) instruments provide a non-destructive measurement of stiffness and are increasingly used to classify/segregate forests, trees and logs. A fundamental assumption in the use of acoustic instruments is that of constant density, yet there is little understanding of density variation within the British spruce resource. Understanding this variation is essential for understanding the accuracy of acoustic instruments, which can affect how and when they should be used. The extent of variation in density was determined…

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  Edinburgh Napier University