Options for NDE Assessment of Heat and Fire Damaged Wood

Abstract

Depending on the duration and temperature, heat can adversely affect structural properties of wood. While severe temperatures will result in damage that is visually obvious, damage to wood in terms of structural performance extends to wood that visually appears to be unaffected or only mildly affected. The loss in structural capacity includes both reductions for the duration of the elevated temperature exposure and reductions that are permanent even after normal temperatures are restored. While extensive work has been done to develop techniques for assessing, using nondestructive evaluation (NDE), the residual capacity of wood affected by biological degradation, a comparative small amount of work has been done on NDE of wood exposed to elevated temperatures. NDE techniques for assessing biological degradation include forced vibration, resistance micro-drilling technology, stress wave evaluation, ultrasonic testing, radiography, and near infrared technologies. These techniques and others will be reviewed for their applicability to heat damaged wood.

Citation

White, Robert H.; Kukay, Brian; Wacker, James P. 2013. Options for NDE assessment of heat and fire damaged wood. In: Gen. Tech. Rept. FPL-GTR-226. Madison,WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. p. 528-535.