Ultrasonic Wetwood And Defect Detection

This Phase I project is aimed at the development of a new ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation (NDE)system capable of detecting both bacterially infected green oak lumber ("wetwood") prior to kilndrying, and internal defects (checking, honeycomb) in dried hardwood. Both wetwood and honeycombare severe problems in the domestic hardwood industry, resulting in up to 10% production loss. Wehave applied for an exclusive license to patented technology from the USDA Forest ProductsLaboratory, which forms the basis of the system. We propose to make significant, fundamentalimprovements to their basic approach, applying sophisticated ultrasound propagation and analysistechniques to improve reliability, detection, and operational speed and stability.The initial program is a feasibility study of the variables involved in ultrasound transmission, detection,and signal analysis. The program will begin by working with test pieces in the lab, eventually movingto actual field test sites. Phase I efforts include: 1) survey specific industry requirements; 2) develop anew detection scheme for lumber inspection; 3) examine the effects of transducer frequency, filtering,measurement methods, and detection algorithms; 4) perform field trials to gather operational data; 5)compare the system's capabilities with existing techniques; and 6) determine the optimal systemparameters.