Using the Ultrasonic Stress Wave Technique to Evaluate Structural Timber Members of an Old Masonry Building

Aim of study: The main objective of this study is to evaluate the current state of the structural timber members of an old masonry building by using destructive and non-destructive test methods and to determine the efficiency of non-destructive test methods by obtaining correlations between destructive and non-destructive test parameters. Area of study: Specimens were extracted from different parts of an old semi-detached masonry building in Istanbul, Turkey. The building was built at the beginning of the 20th century in Kad？k？y, a residential district in the Asia side of Istanbul. Material and Methods: Ultrasonic stress wave test was carried out on specimens prepared from the structural members. Following the ultrasonic based non-destructive tests, the bending strength and modulus of elasticity in the bending tests were determined for the specimens. Main results: According to the results of the experiments, it was observed that the regression correlations were high for the softwoods (fir and spruce), but relatively lower correlations were obtained for the chestnut specimens. Highlights: Because of the good R2 values obtained between the MOED and mechanical properties of the softwoods, the non-destructive stress wave technique can be recommended for the evaluation of softwoods in structures. Although chestnut showed very good mechanical properties, a satisfactory evaluation of the chestnut members could not be obtained because of the small number of specimens. Further investigation is needed with large sample groups