Status after the first year (WP4)
In the first year of the project a laboratory based stand (Figure 1) has been developed to check the feasibility of the proposed device. This has been able to characterise fresh and archaeological wood recording profiles down to a depth of 10 cm from the surface of the wood. The Lab stand electronically transfers corresponding data of depth and strength of the wood to a computer. These data are transformed into a density profile of the wood, by means of physical computerised models and standard curves for wood.
- Figure 1: Lab stand with computer, sensors measuring depth of penetration and energy applied to the needle, plus hard- and software for collecting data. Photo: AKUT
Based on the laboratory model, AKUT will manufacture a handheld wood tester, which will be tested on archaeological wood samples provided by the National Museum of Denmark and analysed by the National Museum of Denmark and the University of Gothenburg. Following this the wood tester will be developed in order to be used underwater.
Robert Fløng Pedersen, Poul Jensen and David Gregory