Brittleheart as a critical feature for visual strength grading of tropical hardwood: approach of detection
conference paper
Brittleheart is a well-known phenomenon in many tropical wood species which reduces the strength properties considerably. According to national strength grading standards such as BS 5756 and NEN 5493, timber with brittleheart has to be rejected. In many cases, however, brittleheart is not visible on the outer surface and the cross section of sawn timber. This investigation has been focused on qualitative characterisation of compression failures in tropical hardwood in conjunction with non-destructive detection methods. Five grades of compression failures have been characterised by deformation and displacement of wood tissue. Preliminary results show that CT-scanning is a promising technique for detecting the defined grades. However, limitation of detection is due to the resolution of the scanners and contrast ability of imaging. Quantitative studies of brittleheart on mechanical properties are continuing.
Topics
TNO Identifier
469153
ISBN
9781622763054
Source title
World Conference on Timber Engineering 2012, Timber Engineering Challenges and Solutions, WCTE 2012, 15-19 July 2012, Auckland, New Zealand
Collation
10 p.
Pages
20-29
Files
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