Strength class prediction of Sardinia grown timber by means of non destructive parameters

In Italy timber and wood products are becoming increasingly used for building constructions due to their excellent physics and mechanical properties. International Codes require the use of wood previously graded according to the current regulation. This paper reports the preliminary results of an experimental campaign aimed at verifying the reliability of the use of Sardinian timber as structural material. For this purpose Maritime Pine boards from two different Sardinian areas have been analyzed and visual strength graded. Physical and morphological properties (density, knots, clusters knot, resin pockets, deviation of the grain, annual ring width position of board respect to the pith, humidity, etc.) along with mechanical and non destructive properties (elastic modulus, tensile strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity) have been checked. Timber properties have been statistically evaluated in order to identify the performance of the base material. Regression analyses have been carried out by studying the correlation between non destructive parameters and mechanical properties in order to define a criterion for predicting the strength class of the base material.