Claims
- 1. A method of evaluating a log comprising the acts of:
determining a measured modulus of elasticity (MOE) of the log; measuring a property of the log; and calculating a modified MOE based at least in part on the measured MOE and the measured property.
- 2. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the act of determining a measured MOE includes the act of measuring the MOE of the log by a nondestructive evaluation technique.
- 3. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the act of determining a measured MOE includes the act of measuring the MOE of the log by a stress wave propagation technique.
- 4. A method as set forth in claim 3 wherein the act of measuring the MOE by a stress wave propagation technique includes the acts of:
attaching a sensor to the log; introducing a stress to the log that results in a stress wave having pulses; measuring a time between two consecutive pulses of the stress wave; calculating the speed of the stress wave based at least in part on the measured time; and calculating the measured MOE based at least in part on the calculated speed of the stress wave.
- 5. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the act of measuring a property includes measuring a diameter of the log (n) times, and
wherein the act of calculating a modified MOE includes the acts of determining an average diameter of the log based on the (n) measurements and calculating a modified MOE based at least in part on the measured MOE and the average diameter.
- 6. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the act of measuring a property includes the acts of measuring a diameter of the log and measuring a length of the log,
wherein the act of calculating a modified MOE includes the act of calculating a modified MOE based at least in part on the measured MOE, the measured diameter and the measured length.
- 7. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the act of measuring a property includes the acts of measuring a diameter of the log and measuring a length of the log,
wherein the act of calculating a modified MOE includes the act of determining a diameter-to-length ratio of the log based at least in part on the measured diameter and the measured length, and calculating a modified MOE based at least in part on the measured MOE and the diameter-to-length ratio.
- 8. A method as set forth in claim 7 wherein the act of calculating a modified MOE includes the act of calculating a modified MOE using the formula
- 9. A method as set forth in claim 1 and further comprising the act of calculating a flexural stiffness of the log based at least in part on the modified MOE.
- 10. An analysis module for evaluating a log comprising:
at least one input terminal connectable to the at least one input device, the at least one input terminal being operable to receive at least one signal representing at least one measured property of the log and at least one determined parameter of the log determined in response to an energy being applied to the log; a processor coupled to the at least one input terminal, the processor determining a predictive modulus of elasticity (MOE) of the log based at least in part on the at least one measured property and the at least one sensed parameter; and an output terminal coupled to the processor and connectable to an output device, the output terminal being operable to transmit a third signal representing the predictive MOE.
- 11. An analysis module as set forth in claim 10 wherein the at least one input device includes an operator-controlled input device.
- 12. An analysis module as set forth in claim 10 wherein the at least one input device includes a data-acquisition device.
- 13. An analysis module as set forth in claim 10 wherein the at least one input device includes a storage device.
- 14. An analysis module as set forth in claim 10 wherein the at least one measured property includes a diameter of the log, and
wherein the processor determines the predictive MOE based at least in part on the diameter of the log.
- 15. An analysis module as set forth in claim 10 wherein the at least one measured property includes a diameter-to-length ratio of the log, and
wherein the processor determines the predictive MOE based at least in part on the diameter-to-length ratio of the log.
- 16. An analysis module as set forth in claim 10 wherein the at least one determined parameter includes a measured modulus of elasticity (MOE), and
wherein the processor determines the predictive MOE based at least in part on the measure MOE.
- 17. An analysis module as set forth in claim 16 wherein the measured MOE represents a MOE determined in response to a stress wave being applied to the log.
- 18. An analysis module as set forth in claim 10 wherein the at least one determined parameter includes an average time between pulses determined in response to a stress wave being applied to the log,
wherein the processor determines the predictive MOE based at least in part on the measure MOE.
- 19. An analysis module as set forth in claim 10 wherein the processor further determines a flexural stiffness base at least in part on the at least one measured property and the at least sensed property.
- 20. A system for evaluating a log comprising:
an input device operable to acquire at least one property of the log and to generate a first signal representing the at least one property; a sensor attachable to the log, the sensor being operable to sense a stress wave propagating through the log and to generate a second signal representing at least one parameter of the sensed stress wave; an analysis module coupled to the input device, the analysis module being operable to receive the first and second signals, to determine a predictive modulus of elasticity (MOE) based at least in part on the first and second signal, and to generate a third signal representing the modified modulus of elasticity; and an output device operable to receive the third signal.
- 21. A system as set forth in claim 20 wherein the first input device is an operator-controlled input device.
- 22. A system as set forth in claim 20 wherein the at least one property includes a diameter of the log, and
wherein the analysis module determines the predictive MOE based at least in part on the diameter of the log.
- 23. A system as set forth in claim 22 wherein the at least one property includes a length of the log, and
wherein the analysis module determines the predictive MOE based at least in part on a diameter-to-length ratio of the log.
- 24. A system as set forth in claim 23 wherein the at least one parameter is the sensed stress wave,
wherein the sensed stress wave includes at least two pulses, wherein the analysis module is further operable to analyze the sensed stress wave to determine an average time between the pulses, and wherein the analysis module determines the predictive MOE based at least in part on the average time between the pulses.
- 25. A system as set forth in claim 23 wherein the sensed stress wave includes at least two pulses,
wherein the at least one parameter is an average time between the pulses, wherein the analysis module determines the predictive MOE based at least in part on the average time between the pulses.
- 26. A software program for evaluating a log, the software program including at least one software module stored in a computer readable medium, the software module being executable to:
receive at least one measured property of the log including a diameter of the log, receive at least one determined parameter of the log determined in response to an energy being applied to the log, calculate a predictive modulus of elasticity (MOE) based at least in part on the diameter and the determined parameter, and output the determined modulus of elasticity.
- 27. A software program as set forth in claim 26 wherein the software module is executable to calculate the predictive MOE by being further executable to
calculate a measured MOE based at least in part on the at least one parameter, and calculate the predictive MOE using the measured MOE.
- 28. A software program as set forth claim 27 wherein the software module is executable to calculate a predictive MOE by being further executable to calculate a predictive MOE using the formula
- 29. A software program as set forth in claim 26 wherein the software module is executable to receive the at least one measure property by being further executable to receive a length of the log, and
wherein the software module is executable to calculate a predictive MOE by being further executable to calculate the predictive MOE based at least in part on a diameter-to-length ratio of the log.
- 30. A software program as set forth in claim 26 wherein the software module is further executable to:
calculate a flexural stiffness of the log based at least in part on the diameter and the determined parameter; and output the calculated flexural stiffness.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/265,252, entitled SYSTEM FOR AND METHOD OF PERFORMING NONDESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION TECHNIQUES ON A LOG OR ROUND TIMBER, filed on Jan. 31, 2001.
PCT Information
Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCT/US02/02690 |
1/30/2002 |
WO |
|