ABSTRACT
Wood, in-service, can be attacked by a variety of biological organisms. Such organisms feed on the constituents of wood, thereby reducing its ability to carry load and serve in an engineering capacity. This paper presents results of a study that investigated the use of longitudinal stress wave nondestructive evaluation (NDE) to assess the strength of wood members exposed to biological attack. Clear Southern Pine specimens were exposed to attack by wood-destroying decay fungi and termites under field conditions in southern Mississippi. Speed-of-sound transmission and damping characteristics of the specimens were determined after exposure. These nondestructive parameters were then incorporated into a multivariable regression model and used to predict the compressive strength of the specimens. Excellent agreement was found between predicted and actual compressive strength values.
