Determination of the mechanical properties of Castanea sativa Mill. using ultrasonic wave propagation and comparison with static compression and bending methods

The goal of this paper was to analyse the mechanical properties of Castanea sativa determined using an ultrasonic wave method. The results were compared with those obtained using the traditional static compression and bending methods with the same sample. The results were also compared with expected values for this species, and relationships between properties were determined to verify whether there were differences between the results and the expected behaviour of the wood. The elastic constants determined using ultrasound did not reveal statistically significant differences compared with the static methods, and the results were generally within the expected range for this species. This result makes ultrasound a powerful method for determining the elastic constants of wood, in addition to its feasibility and low cost. Future studies regarding optimisation of the specimen are important to improve the results of the Poisson’s ratios.