Resistance drilling test

The test is based on measuring the resistance to perforation of a piece of wood. The resistance is evaluated by measuring the energy required by the instrument to advance a thin steel tip at a constant speed. The penetration energy is dissipated at the tip of the needle, which is twice as thick as the shaft. The electronic control of the motor guarantees a constant speed of the needle, which must be adapted to the specific density characteristics of the wood to be tested.
The needle penetrometer provides a density profile of the sections tested and makes it possible to estimate the dimensions of any degraded areas that are not visible from the outside, in order to determine the actual resistant section of the structure. The graphs obtained from the test show on the x-axis the penetration depth and on the y-axis a percentage value related to the energy consumed by the instrument as a function of the density of the section of timber being tested.