PRELIMINARY PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS OF NON-IONIZINGTERAHERTZ WOOD DENSITOMETRY

Abstract

To use wood as a structural element in vehicles, it is necessary to measure its physical properties locally in order to deduce its mechanical behaviour. Density is one of the characteristics that influences the most the mechanical properties, and it is on its measurement that this study will focus, using a technology that is still little studied for this application: terahertz radiation. Measurements using a Terahertz radar on samples will allow to obtain maps of the optical index and absorption coefficient, these values being linked to the density of the samples. The present study will consider wood species with various global densities and exhibiting local density pattern (growth rings) to assess the prediction of the density.