Abstract:
This paper presents the results of numerical evaluation of surface Non-Destructive Testing methods for embedded timber poles in service. Main objective of the study is to investigate the influence offactors such as different boundary conditions, geotechnical conditions and material defects and imperfections of embedded timber poles, on reliability and accuracy of the prediction or evaluation using surface NDT. Firstly, the numerical evaluation ofa free-end timber pole without embedment was conducted to gain an understanding of the behaviour of stress waves in timber poles in relation to selected surface NDT methods. Then the embedded timber poles are modelled to include effects of geotechnical conditions as in-service poles. Two types of typical decay patterns are simulated to study the effect of defect/damage on the Non-Destructive Testing results. Finally, the numerical results are compared with field test results obtained from field testing in Victoria.
