Sylvatest

Sylvatest is an ultrasonic measuring device that provides an overall diagnosis of a wooden component to test its mechanical strength. This is a specific non-destructive testing tool for wooden beams.

Sylvatest is an acousto-ultrasonic measuring device that provides an overall diagnosis of the wood element, based on the speed and energy absorption of the transmitted ultrasonic wave.^[1][2][3] The result given reflects the residual health of the wood in the trunk of the tree tested or the beam measured. These are non-destructive tests.^[4][5]

The technology was developed by Professor Jean-Luc Sandoz as part of his thesis at EPFL in 1984 and was further developed by researcher Yann Benoit in 1998.^[4][6]

The sylvatest is used in many countries (Brazil, Europe and Asia).^{[4][7][8][9][10]}

It has been used on historic buildings such as the Entrepôts des magasins généraux in Paris, the Forbidden City in Beijing, and the beams of Notre-Dame de Paris^[11][12] or even the Château de Valère.^[13]

It is also used to certify the quality of wood for registered designations of origin such as Bois des Alpes^[14][15] or Bois de Chatreuse.^[16][17]

• Research seminar: Diagnosing century-old reclaimed timber with a view to its reuse;^[18]
• Yosafat Aji Pranata, Muhammad Rusli, « Non-destructive testing go the existing timber columns of Minahasa traditional house »^[19]
• Nondestructive Techniques for Determination of Wood Mechanical Properties of Urban Trees in Madrid;^[20]
• CMechanical strength of structural timber. Taking account of singularities when modelling mechanical behaviour.^[21]
• Rita Bütler, Lita Patty, Renée-Claire Le Bayon et Claire Guenat, Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 242, avril 2007, p. 791–799^[22]
• Document de travail Interreg France-Suisse de 2019^[23]
• Probe-wood contact and gauge pressure with Sylvatest-Duo for precision ultrasonic measurements of wood^[24]
• Evaluation of two acoustic methods for determining the modulus of elasticity of young hybrid larch wood (Larix x eurolepis Henry) - comparison with a standard static bending method ^[25]
• Classification of Guyanese structural timbers. Comparison of three non-destructive techniques: visual, ultrasonic and modal analysis.^[26]
• Evaluation of modulus of elasticity of date palm sandwich panels using ultrasonic wave velocity and experimental models ^[27]