Modeling Issues Associated with Sensor Technologies for the Nondestructive Evaluation of Timber Bridges

Modeling Issues Associated with Sensor Technologies for the Nondestructive Evaluation of Timber Bridges
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 41
Release: 2007
Genre: Wooden bridges
ISBN:

This report documents progress made regarding the development and validation of a class of models examining the reliability of nondestructive vibrational inspection tests of single spanned bridges. Two important problems were identified for special consideration. The first concerned the development of a mathematical formulation of the nonlinear boundary conditions needed to accurately model the end support structures of single-span (stringerbased) timber spans. A computational algorithm for the numerical approximations of such systems was derived, implemented and tested with the commonly available Mathematica software package. The second focal problem involved the modeling and analysis of a newly-proposed vibrational testing method. The method seeks to predict bridge strength from vibrational data, and (most importantly) without the need to estimate overall bridge mass. Models developed in this project have provided the first steps towards developing a mathematical understanding of these issues, as well as the creation of a new bridge testing protocol involving the measurement of bridge vibrational responses to forced vibrations both with and without controlled loading. This work has contributed to the development and application of new motion detection sensor technologies addressing the problem of monitoring and estimating bridge integrity.

Nondestructive Evaluation of Wood

Nondestructive Evaluation of Wood
Author: Forest Service (U S )
Publisher: Government Printing Office
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2015
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780160928871

Nature's engineering of wood through genetics, wind, and weather creates a wide variability in wood as a material. Consequently, manufacture and users of wood products are frequently frustrated in dealing with the forest resource. Manufacturers sometimes argue that wood is difficult to consistently process into quality products because of the wide range of properties that exist in this raw material. Users of wood products can be equally frustrated with the performance variability found in finished products. Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technologies have contributed significantly toward eliminating the cause of these frustrations. NDE technologies have been developed and are currently used in lumber and veneer grading programs that result in engineered materials that have consistent well-defined performance characteristics. This brief volume explores some of the processes that are used to manufacture wood, including green wood technology and provides a bit of history to wood production and its uses too. Other products that may interest you from the US Forest Service can be found at this link: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/819