| Communications and Development |  |
Published by Communications and Development
Tucked away in the Wood Technology Lab of UC's School of Forestry, a new robotic machine is opening up a whole new world of research possibilities.
The Ultrasonic Velocity (USV) machine, which arrived in the laboratory last month, is the result of collaboration between staff and students from Forestry, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the UC Product Innovation Centre.
The machine was designed by Dr Dean Kirk of the UC Product Innovation Centre, based in Mechanical Engineering, and Michael Hayes (Electrical and Computer Engineering), and built by technician Nigel Pink (Forestry). Its development was partly funded by a research grant from the Wood Quality Initiative obtained by Associate Professor Euan Mason (Forestry).
The USV machine monitors the properties of wood. A disc of wood is clamped onto the machine and the robotic arm takes readings at set intervals along the radius from the pith to the outer wood. It takes measurements of the thickness of the wood and also the speed sound travels through the disc. This acoustic measurement gives researchers information on wood properties such as stiffness, shrinkage and stability during drying.
Professor Mason said researchers were keen to use the new machine to determine how various treatments in field research – such as fertilisation, weed control, water stress and wind sway – had affected wood properties.
“We know that spacing between trees, temperature, drought stress and maybe tree sway apparently influence key wood properties, but the mechanisms involved are still mysteries,” Professor Mason said.
“This machine will enable us to measure distributions of properties within trees rapidly and relate them to growing conditions. We are now in a position to test a range of hypotheses about processes that contribute to the development of wood properties.”
Professor Mason said the machine was already operational with one of his PhD students, Gofred Sialumba, using data obtained from the USV machine as the core of his doctoral study looking at the impacts of fertilisation and weed control on crop productivity and wood quality.
“Having this machine here means many other postgraduate students will be able to use it to form the foundation of their research,” said Professor Mason.
“It is fabulous to work in an institution that has people as capable as Michael, Dean and Nigel, and this development is a great example of how people with diverse skills can collaborate in a university environment to create new knowledge.”
For further information please contact:
Maria De Cort
Communications Officer
University of Canterbury
Tel: +64 3 364 2072
Fax: +64 3 364 2679
maria.decort@canterbury.ac.nz