energies

Article
Implementation of the Results of Experimental Studies with the
Use of the Sclerometric Method of Plane Elements in
Wooden Buildings
Barbara Ksit 1 , Anna Szymczak-Graczyk 2, * , Marta Thomas 1 and Roman Pilch 3

1 Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transport, Poznan University of Technology, Piotrowo 5,

60-965 Poznań, Poland
2 Department of Civil Engineering and Geoengineering, Faculty of Environmental and Mechanical Engineering,
Poznan University of Life Sciences, Piatkowska
˛ 94E, 60-649 Poznań, Poland
3 Faculty of Architecture and Design, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Prof. S. Kaliskiego 7,
85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: Wood is one of the basic building materials. It is a completely biodegradable raw industrial
commodity, the resources of which, with proper forest management, are virtually inexhaustible.
Additionally, its acquisition and processing does not require large inputs of fossil fuels. At the
same time, forest areas which we obtain wood from neutralize the negative effects of producing
and acquiring other raw materials, as one hectare of pine forest (the most popular in Poland) can
absorb approx. 20–30 tons of CO2 . Wood is characterised by low thermal and electrical conductivity,
having simultaneously high sound insulation, which perfectly meets the requirements of the present
market and its regulations. This study aimed at verifying the technical parameters of wood, i.e.,
its bending strength, with the use of an innovative method of the correlation between the bending
strength measured along and across wood fibres. The procedure was envisaged as effective for
Citation: Ksit, B.; Szymczak-Graczyk,
testing the strength of beams in historic buildings, in which—due to their valuable structure—only
A.; Thomas, M.; Pilch, R.
a limited number of sample holes can be made. The aim of this experiment was to create tables
Implementation of the Results of
and diagrams, from which, based on the correlation between the side and the head of the beam,
Experimental Studies with the Use of
the Sclerometric Method of Plane
using in situ tests and the sclerometric method, it will be possible to derive the bending strength
Elements in Wooden Buildings. of existing wooden beams. In the study of spruce and pine wood, a correlation between the recess
Energies 2022, 15, 6660. https:// from the side and the recess from the head was found, ranging from 0.64 to 0.76, with an average
doi.org/10.3390/en15186660 of 0.72 for spruce elements, and 0.66–0.84, with an average of 0.70 for pine elements. This means
that when testing an element fixed in a building, measuring the parameters from the head of the
Academic Editor: Attilio Converti
beam with a Schmidt hammer (often such elements are more easily accessible, i.e., on the building
Received: 23 August 2022 facade), the obtained values should be multiplied by 0.72 for spruce elements and by 0.70 for pine
Accepted: 6 September 2022 elements to obtain the strength of the beam. The authors of this article indicate that the confirmation
Published: 12 September 2022
of this observation requires conducting further research on various types of wood. It should also
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral be noted that the material collected from one batch of sawn timber had a different structure, which
with regard to jurisdictional claims in was proved by analysing it using SEM imaging. Modeling wood numerically is, to some extent, a
published maps and institutional affil- simplified issue that assumes wood to be an orthotropic, homogeneous (homogeneous) material. In
iations. fact, wood is an anisotropic, very heterogeneous material. The analysis of wood (on the technical
scale, construction wood) as an anisotropic material is practically impossible. Adopting wood as
an isotropic material is too simplistic. Therefore, the most appropriate methods of strength testing
are destructive methods, as all non-destructive methods should not be used without verifying the
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
results with other methods. The results obtained by non-destructive testing pose great difficulties in
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
their interpretation. Obtaining reliable results of experiments entails collecting a large number of
distributed under the terms and research samples. The method described in this paper will allow for obtaining the necessary data for
conditions of the Creative Commons effective expertise assessment regarding the safety level of structural elements in historic wooden
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// load-bearing structures, which is crucial for making conservation decisions.
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).

Energies 2022, 15, 6660. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15186660 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies

Energies 2022, 15, 6660 2 of 19

Keywords: pine wood; spruce wood; Schmidt hammer; bending strength; strength along fibres;
strength across fibres; historic buildings; venetian charter; non-destructive wood testing

1. Introduction
Along with an increase in environmental awareness among societies, the willingness to
use ecological construction materials has grown. Wood has always been a building material
considered easily sourced and sustainable. In the past centuries, it was practically the only
commodity used to construct the main structural elements of buildings. As a result, today,
there are many historic buildings with a wooden structure. All modernisation works on
these facilities require designers to assess the technical condition of the wooden structural
elements. Under average use, wood deteriorates faster than other building materials [1].
Renovation of historic buildings, including the determination of the technical parameters
of the built-in wood elements, is a difficult procedure, resulting in little or no possibility
of interfering with the structure and facade of buildings. Assessment of the strength of
wooden elements in historic and monumental objects completely or partially excludes the
use of destructive methods. Furthermore, underestimating the strength may be associated
with a reduction in their durability and construction failures [2–4].
Figure 1 shows selected historic buildings with a wooden structure, in which the
collection of samples in a destructive manner may be prohibited by the conservator of
monuments, and access to non-destructive testing from the front or side of the beams is
impossible due to the location of the elements.

Figure 1. Taken as example, selected historic buildings with difficult access to sampling or testing
(source: authors’ own study).

As evidenced by numerous studies [5–14], it is most accurate to consider wood—

reflecting the behaviour of this material under the influence of mechanical stress—as an
elastic-visco-plastic body, having simultaneously heterogeneous and porous characteris-
tics [6–9,15–20]. The dependence of the physical properties of wood on the direction of
the anatomical structure of tree trunks was confirmed in the 1920s. Wood’s anisotropy
results from the arrangement of its structural elements [21]. For most wooden objects, the
assumption of orthogonal anisotropy (orthotropy) is the most applicable [13,14,19,21–23].
When analysing the structure of wood at the macroscopic, microscopic, and submicroscopic
levels [6,15,24,25], there are distinguishable regular elements, irregular elements (hetero-
geneities), and defects. Each level is characterised by different reasons for wood anisotropy.
Additionally, we can distinguish five structural levels affecting wood anisotropy [26]: the
matter of wood cells, the cell wall, the cell, the group of cells, and various types of wood
tissue as a whole. At the submicroscopic level, the elongated middle layers of cell walls
Energies 2022, 15, 6660 3 of 19

act as supports. They are the thickest elements and contain microfibrils that are practically
parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cell. The strength and elasticity modulus of cell walls
in directions transverse to the longitudinal axis of the cell is significantly lower than that
of cell walls along the cell axis [26]. Total deflection of wood under the action of external
forces usually consists of elastic immediate deflection, elastic deflection developing over
time (called elastic retardation or elastic deflection), which can be considered elastic-sticky
deflection, and plastic deflection—also developing over time. The curvature of annual rings
and their different orientation against the edge of a sufficiently large wood object addition-
ally can blur the differences between the different directions in the plane perpendicular
to wood fibres. In such a case, it is most justified to treat wood as a transversal-isotropic
(monotropic) body [16,26,27]. In its structure, wood very often contains knots and cracks,
which may affect its strength parameters. In practice, since the 1970s, a new discipline
related to the viscoelastic-plastic nature of wood has been developed, known as the theory
of damaged viscoelastic materials (DVM). It considers cracks, gaps, and other wood defects
(mainly knots) as natural inhomogeneities of wood. The damaged viscoelastic materials
theory (DVM) has been developing primarily in Denmark and Canada [28,29]. The theory,
confirmed experimentally, allows for tracking the formation and development of cracks
in the vicinity of the analysed defects, i.e., material creep, and estimating wood quality,
i.e., its durability and long-term strength—here called “residual strength” [10,11,29–31].
The material intended for testing the mechanical and physical properties of wood should
be collected in accordance with the purpose of the planned measurements and with the
requirements concerning the representativeness of samples and their statistical size [32,33].
Destructive tests require collecting a large number of samples of a predetermined size and
their appropriate conditioning. They may also consist of, for example, the examination
of cores taken by drills with special tips [25]. Usually, conservators of monuments do not
agree with the use of invasive methods. In this case, it is worth using non-destructive
testing to determine the parameters of bending strength. Among non-destructive tests, the
most popular are:
• Quality assessment of wooden structural elements, consisting of the propagation
of acoustic waves, which should be performed at a specific humidity, density, and
assessment of wood defects, as these factors have a significant impact on the speed of
wave propagation. However, it is useful for many elements made of wood of a similar
anatomy, species, and shape. The method should not be considered as reliable without
verifying the results using other methods [1,34],
• Wood structure by means of X-ray examination (X-ray chamber), which allows for
volumetric examination with real-time imaging. Elements of variable thickness and
shape are ideal for tests using this method, which allows for the examining of critical
zones with a significant intensity of defects, impurities, or fibre thinning. An image
processing system can indicate various defects in the wood structure. In order for
wooden elements to be examined with an X-ray chamber, their dimensions must not
exceed 700 × 1200 mm [34],
• Assessment of the quality and mechanical properties of wooden structural elements
using the sclerometric method with a Schmidt hammer (WoodPecker by DRC). The
test is easy to perform, however, the instruction informs that it should be carried out
from the front of the beam with a specific spacing of test points and the results should
be referred to the parameters given in the correlation of the needle penetration depth
and elasto-mechanical properties [24,35].
In the literature on the subject, there are no analyses of the correlation of strength pa-
rameters for wooden beams measured across and along wooden fibres using a sclerometric
device. The authors conducted an experiment by modeling tests to analyse the obtained
values and create guidelines for several variants of in situ tests. Testing softwood with the
use of a Schmidt hammer is innovative. At present, there are no tables or diagrams on the
basis of which the strength class can be read. The aim of this experiment was to create such
tables and diagrams, from which, based on the correlation between the side and the head
Energies 2022, 15, 6660 4 of 19

of the beam using in-situ tests and the sclerometric method, it will be possible to obtain
the bending strength of an existing wooden beam. It is particularly important in case of
historic buildings, where most often there is only a possibility, allowed by conservators, to
perform tests from the side of the beam, while all research procedures refer to conducting
tests from the front of the beam.

2. Materials and Methods

For the tests, samples of pine and spruce wood were used. The wood was taken
from one shipment of sawn timber. For comparison purposes, the structure of the wood
was tested in the laboratory, and the analysis was performed using a TESKAN VEGAN-3
microscope (TESKAN, Brno, Czech) at 50× and 500× magnification (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Structure of pine wood (a,b) and spruce wood (c,d), from one batch of sawn timber.

The number of samples for density and humidity tests was adopted in accordance
with the standard [36] and amounted to 40, since this is the smallest permissible number
of samples compliant with the provisions. However, for the strength tests, the number of
samples was selected considering the number of tests carried out using the non-destructive
method. A total of 10 spruce wood and 10 pine wood samples were used for the study.
The number of tests performed using the non-destructive Schmidt hammer method was
80 hammer blows from the head and 120 hammer blows from the side for the spruce wood
and pine wood elements. As the wood was from one batch, the result from 1 test was taken
as 1 sample for the species of wood, i.e., the smallest permissible number of samples, which
resulted in 40 tests carried out with a Schmidt hammer (Gilson, Inc., Middleton, WI, USA).
Energies 2022, 15, 6660 5 of 19

The pine wood samples were 10 beams with dimensions of 60 × 60 × 1260 mm,
conditioned in the open air without impregnation. Macroscopic examination showed that
the elements had knots. On the other hand, the spruce wood samples were beams with
dimensions of 20 × 20 × 300 mm, also conditioned in the open air and then technically
dried to a moisture content of 10 ± 2%. The spruce wood samples also had knots and
were not impregnated. Figures 3 and 4 show the samples prepared for testing. During
the test, the air temperature was 22.1 ◦ C and relative air humidity was 51.1%. The values
were checked with a TROTEC BP25 Dual-laser NO.150321542 laser scanner (Accurate,
Auckland, New Zealand). All elements were cut from hardwood. The wood intended for
the experiment was without defects, cracks, and twists of fibers with a few knots. The
distance of the rings was not measured. The raw material was harvested in the winter and
stored under a canopy for about 3 years.

Figure 3. Pine wood elements.

Figure 4. The elements of spruce wood before trimming to 20 × 20 × 300 mm.

Energies 2022, 15, 6660 6 of 19

2.1. Determination of Moisture Content in Wood

Moisture content in the wood samples was determined using the dryer-weight method
according to [37] prior to strength tests. Before the tests, all samples were kept under normal
conditions. The wood samples were weighed with an accuracy of 0.01 g. Then, they were
conditioned in a wood drying chamber at a temperature of 103 (±2) ◦ C. The drying process
continued until the difference between two consecutive weighings, which were carried out
at two-hour intervals, was less than 0.1%. The samples were weighed immediately after
they were removed from the dryer. In addition, the moisture content test was carried out
using a non-destructive method with a TFA Dostmann/Wertheim No. 30.5502 07/09 device
(TFA Dostmann, Wertheim-Reicholzheim, Germany). The moisture content in the pine
wood samples was 7% and the moisture content in the spruce wood samples was 11%.

2.2. Wood Density

Wood density was determined by the stereometric method compliant with [36]. Before
the strength tests, the samples were measured along the appropriate symmetry axes. The
measurement was made with an accuracy of 0.01 mm using a calliper. Their mass was
determined with an accuracy of 0.01 g. Wood density ρw with moisture W was calculated
according to formula:
mw mw
ρw = = (1)
aw bw lw Vw
where:
mw —mass of the sample before drying with moisture content W [g],
aw , bw , lw —linear dimensions of the cross-section and the length of the sample with
moisture content W [mm],
Vw —volume of the sample with moisture content W.
The results were corrected according to the standard [36] as the humidity of the
samples was below 12%. This meant an increase in density by 0.5% for each moisture
percentage point of the samples.
A characteristic feature of wood is the anisotropy of its anatomical structure, as a result
of which we can distinguish three anatomical directions in wood: radial, tangential, and
along the fibres. The examination of the effect of the anatomical direction was carried out on
appropriately selected and conditioned samples. The density of each of the 40 samples was
determined by taking three measurements in the longitudinal, tangential, and radial direction.

2.3. Determination of Static Bending Strength

The test was performed under reference conditions, i.e., at an air temperature of
20 ◦ C and a moisture content of 65% in accordance with [38,39]. Bending was performed
with two concentrated forces with total value of F in the direction perpendicular to the
radial section of the wood sample. The samples were placed freely, symmetrically on two
supports, in a way that allowed the load to be transferred by the thrust to the sample in
the middle of its length. The distance between the supports was 12 times greater than the
sample’s height. The dimension between the thrust and the support was equal to six times
the value of the sample’s height (Figure 5). The measuring stand was an advanced system
for IN-STRON strength tests (Instron, Norwood, MA, USA), which included a device for
strength tests, digital control system, high-speed data transmission interface, measuring
head of 300 kN with interchangeable accessories, and computer set integrated with the
INSTRON system, Bluehill 2 software (Bluehill® , Norwood, MA, USA) generating a tabular
summary of results along with diagrams.
The test on the samples started with applying a pre-load (F) of 0.5 kN, and then loading
it with a constant speed of 0.3 kN/min. The load rate was determined tentatively, so that the
maximum load was reached after 300 ± 120 s (Figures 6 and 7). After completing the tests,
a diagram was prepared for each sample, showing the relationship between the load and
resultant deflection. The deflection value was read from the data provided by the measuring
head sensor, saved in a tabular form by the software of the strength testing device.
Energies 2022, 15, 6660 7 of 19

Figure 5. Scheme of the bending strength test according to [39].

Figure 6. Bending strength test of the spruce wood element.

Figure 7. Bending strength test of the pine wood element.

Energies 2022, 15, 6660 8 of 19

The values of bending strengths were calculated by substituting the destructive force
in the following formula:
3Fmax l
fm = (2)
2bh2
where:
Fmax —maximum load [N],
l—span of the sample measured between supports [mm],
b—width of the sample [mm], h—height of the sample [mm].

2.4. Testing with a Light Schmidt Hammer

This non-destructive method allows, to a limited extent, for the assessment of the
mechanical properties of wood (resistance and deformability), as well as for the determina-
tion of the condition of protection of wooden elements. For this purpose, a needle with a
diameter of 2.5 mm and a length of 50 mm was used, which had a conical tip with an angle
of 35◦ . It was made of high-hardness steel (60 HRC).
The test was performed in a standing position to avoid the adverse effects of gravity.
A testing instrument with a needle was placed against the edge of the element at 90◦ , and
then it was hit five times with a Schmidt hammer. Next, the recess depth was measured
with a system with a dial gauge with an accuracy of 0.01 mm. Each of the four edges was
tested three times (Figures 8 and 9).

Figure 8. Measurement points—(a) the needle recess along fibres (1, 2, 3, 4), (b) across fibres (A, B, C).

Figure 9. Reading from the needle recess in the wooden element along fibres.

3. Results
The wood density results were:
− For pine wood—mean density ρmean = 432 kg/m3 , variation coefficient 8.9%, standard
deviation 39.44, and the 5% density quantile of the test was 362.38 kg/m3 ,
− For spruce wood—mean density ρmean = 427.46 kg/m3 , variation coefficient 9.2%,
standard deviation 29.44, and the 5% density quantile of the test was 378.88 kg/m3 .
Energies 2022, 15, 6660 9 of 19

Schmidt hammer tests for pine wood were carried out on 10 beams. The first 10 mea-
surements for the 10 spruce beams were adopted for further analysis and experiments in
order to compare the obtained results. For the spruce wood elements, the bending strength
was determined for each element individually. The results for the 20 samples using the
INSTRON press are shown in Figure 10, and a summary of the results of the bending
strength test for the 10 samples of spruce wood is summarized in Table 1.

Figure 10. Results of the bending strength test for spruce wood elements obtained during the test at
the INSTRON stand.

Table 1. Results of the bending strength test for spruce wood elements.

Bending Stress at Maximum Elongation During Bending at

Maximum Bending Force
Bending Force Maximum Bending Force
(kN)
(N/mm2 ) (mm)
Mean 1.890 85.042 8.590
Standard
0.211 9.498 2.085
Deviation
Minimum 1.482 66.698 4.191
Maximum 2.284 102.785 11.64
Scope 0.802 36.087 7.449

For the pine wood elements, the bending strength was determined for each element
individually. Figure 11 shows the relationship between the elongation during bending and
the bending force for each of the 10 elements. The destructive force for the samples from two
to ten ranged from 6 to 11 kN, while the destructive force for the first sample significantly
differed and amounted to approx. 15 kN. The bending strength of the individual samples of
pine and spruce wood were calculated using Formula (2) and is presented in Tables 2 and 3.

Figure 11. Results of the bending strength test for pine wood elements obtained during the test at the
INSTRON stand.
Energies 2022, 15, 6660 10 of 19

Table 2. Results of Schmidt hammer tests for spruce wood elements and bending strength obtained
in the destructive test in accordance with [38].

Bending
Average Standard Head/Side
Number Edge Strength
Result [mm] Deviation Ratio
[MPa]
Head 31.75 2.31
1 0.66 75.925
Side 21.00 1.24
Head 34.79 2.84
2 0.64 84.698
Side 22.18 2.07
Head 34.09 1.59
3 0.65 78.967
Side 22.15 2.04
Head 36.28 1.29
4 0.73 73.878
Side 26.53 2.55
Head 35.96 1.94
5 0.73 75.025
Side 26.32 3.04
Head 36.74 0.69
6 0.76 74.386
Side 27.98 1.00
Head 31.56 1.24
7 0.67 66.698
Side 21.15 2.03
Head 33.46 2.01
8 0.67 79.199
Side 22.42 1.26
Head 31.95 2.58
9 0.73 78.680
Side 23.32 1.99
Head 35.88 0.96
10 0.71 97.459
Side 25.48 1.01

Table 2 summarizes the mean results from the Schmidt hammer test for six spruce
wood samples carried out from the head and the side of the element. The maximum
standard deviation from the head was 2.84 and from the side was 3.04. The ratio between
the needle recess from the side to the needle recess from the head ranged from 0.64 to 0.76,
thus it averaged 0.70.
Figure 12 shows the results of the Schmidt hammer test at individual points conducted
from the front of the 10 pine wood beams. Figure 13 shows the needle recess in these
elements from the side. There were noticeable differences in the results for the individual
points due to the non-uniform structure of the wood. Additionally, for both the pine and
spruce wood elements, the needle recess from the side (across fibres) was smaller than from
the front (along fibres).

Figure 12. Needle recess from the head of pine wood beams. 1, 2, 3, 4, 10 , 20 , 30 , 40 —measurement
points—the needle recess along fibres.
Energies 2022, 15, 6660 11 of 19

Figure 13. Needle recess from the side of pine wood beams. A, B, C—measurement points—the
needle recess across fibres.

Table 3 summarizes the averaged results of the needle recess for each of the 10 pine
wood elements from the side and from the front. The maximum standard deviation from
the head was 2.77 and from the side was 1.62. For the pine wood samples, the ratio of the
recess across fibres to the recess along fibres was also provided, ranging from 0.66 to 0.84,
thus averaging 0.72.

Table 3. Results of Schmidt hammer tests for pine wood elements and bending strength obtained in
the destructive test in accordance with [38].

Bending
Average Standard Head/Side
Number Edge Strength
Result [mm] Deviation Ratio
[MPa]
Head 35.53 1.80
1 0.74 40.39
Side 26.40 1.62
Head 35.93 1.93
2 0.67 48.49
Side 24.21 0.27
Head 33.35 2.77
3 0.69 43.47
Side 23.03 0.85
Head 36.17 1.74
4 0.70 29.10
Side 25.38 1.55
Head 37.25 0.80
5 0.66 36.20
Side 24.77 0.79
Head 35.98 1.18
6 0.69 31.43
Side 25.00 0.44
Head 35.95 2.10
7 0.77 37.74
Side 27.59 1.24
Head 34.70 1.76
8 0.78 40.82
Side 26.91 1.17
Head 33.28 2.38
9 0.66 67.50
Side 21.90 0.67
Head 34.42 2.71
10 0.84 31.83
Side 28.83 0.20
Energies 2022, 15, 6660 12 of 19

Figures 14 and 15 show the correlation between the mean needle recess from the side
of the pine wood elements (Figure 14) and the spruce wood elements (Figure 15) and their
bending strength tested using a destructive method. It was noticeable that the greater the
recess, the lower the strength of the element.

Figure 14. Correlation between the needle recess from the side of the element and its bending strength
for the pine wood elements.

Figure 15. Correlation between the needle recess from the side of the element and its bending strength
for spruce wood.

A statistical analysis of the results is presented in Figures 14 and 15. The analyses
were performed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, which is expressed by Formula (3)
taken from [40].
∑i (xi − x)(yi − y)
r= q q (3)
2 2
∑i (xi − x) ∑i (yi − y)
Energies 2022, 15, 6660 13 of 19

and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient [40]

6 ∑ni=1 d2i
rs = 1 − (4)
n(n2 − 1)

where:
d2i —squares of differences between ranks of corresponding values xi i yi ,
n—number of data pairs.
Table 4 presents the results of the Pearson and Sperman correlation. By analysing the
graphs shown in Figures 14 and 15, it can be seen that the pattern of the points has a shape
similar to an inverted parabola. Therefore, there was no linear relationship here and the
correlation relationships must be described with non-linear functions. As a confirmation, it
can be stated that with the linear trend line for Figure 14, the coefficient of determination
was R2 = 0.447, while with the polynomial function R2 = 0.672. Similarly for Figure 15,
with the linear trend line, the coefficient of determination was R2 = 0.032, while for the
polynomial function R2 = 0.189.

Table 4. Results of the non-parametric test of the correlation coefficient significance.

Pearson
Series r t p-Value Alternative Hypothesis
Pine wood −0.6651106 −2.5192 0.03585 true correlation is greater than 0
Spruce wood −0.1789348 −0.51441 0.6209 true correlation is greater than 0
Spearman
Series rho S p-value alternative hypothesis
Pine wood −0.5393939 254 0.1133 true rho is greater than 0
Spruce wood −0.2727273 210 0.4483 true rho is greater than 0

The Pearson correlation analysis presented in Table 4 shows a poor correlation coeffi-
cient for both the pine wood and spruce wood elements because |r| < 0.
The obtained results confirmed that it was difficult to obtain linear parameters demon-
strating a sufficient repeatability of parameters by non-invasive methods. The wood
material, taken for testing from one batch, exhibited different mechanical properties. In
order to verify strength parameters, as shown by the tests with the needle recesses being
not directly proportional to the obtained strengths (Tables 2 and 3, Figures 14 and 15), the
obtained strength parameters by a non-invasive method should always be verified by an
invasive method to obtain accurate data for further statistical analyses of working elements.
However, the obtained results of the needle recess of the side for the beam head can
be considered uniform and in the case of obtaining material for the head-side tests, the
parameter 0.7 can be taken as a correction/correlation parameter.

4. Discussion
The tests with the use of a Schmidt hammer for softwood were innovative. Their
objective was to find the correlation between the needle recess from the side and from the
head of the beam. The authors assumed that such a relationship would help in non-invasive
examination of wooden elements in historic buildings, where most measurements can be
made from the side of the beam, not from its head, since it remains inaccessible.
The authors of the work [41] provide the results of pine wood tests depending on
the place of sampling, analysing post-agricultural and typically forest areas. Based on the
results, they found that the wood of young pine had a density of 500–600 kg/m3 , while the
wood of mature pine (80 years old) had a density of 570–630 kg/m3 .
The presence of resin in the wood tissue may have been a factor disturbing the
achieved results since wood has a higher density when it contains resin. The zones of the
wood saturated with resin were denser, but this did not lead to an increase in compressive
Energies 2022, 15, 6660 14 of 19

strength, bending strength, nor the modulus of elasticity. In the works [42–44], the authors
referred to the diagnostics of historic buildings in order to use them as sacred, museum,
hotel, educational, or recreational buildings, providing the most advantageous methods
of multidisciplinary and sustainable protection of monuments. The authors described the
technical and legal problems related to the adjustment to modern construction requirements,
i.e., safety of use, fire safety, and proper energy performance. A completely different
matter is to assess the load-bearing capacity of historic buildings for which modern load
standards cannot be used because most of these structures would not fulfill contemporary
requirements. The works [45–48] showed the method of calculating the load-bearing
capacity for historic objects and explained the accepted deviations.
The work [3] proposed the use of a diagnostic method with the use of laser scanning,
thanks to which large fragments of a historic ceiling were not damaged. Based on the tests
carried out in selected sample holes, the structural system of floor beams as well as the
construction and structure of the floor were identified, which allowed for assessing their
load-bearing capacity and the manner of further use.
The diagnostics of historic buildings also concerns the issue of moisture content,
which was described in detail in relation to historic buildings in [4]. For the purpose of the
work [48], the construction materials, for which the reduction in relative moisture content
was measured, were investigated not only to recommend them for use in passive buildings,
but also for the reconstruction or renovation of historic buildings. The studies quoted in
the paper were carried out at humidity of 65% in accordance with [38,49].
The authors of the work [50] state that nowadays, due to the widespread thermal
modernisation of buildings, this subject is also beginning to apply to historic buildings.
Subsequently, it is important to check the technical condition and load-bearing capacity of
wooden elements when making a decision on their thermal modernisation.
The authors of the work [33] indicated that it is important to understand how the
mechanical properties of wood change depending on its heterogeneity, the orientation of
the sample’s position in relation to the directions of anisotropy, and its natural defects. The
testing material was obtained from pine sawn timber, which was based on the four-sided
planing process. The wood was subjected to strength tests, determining for the appropriate
groups of samples the following parameters: modulus of elasticity in static bending and
static bending strength. The influence of wood anisotropy on the elastic and strength
properties of wood was investigated. It was shown in the work [33] that it results from the
orientation variability of wooden elements and the direction of the load in relation to the
main directions of anisotropy.
The presence of knots and three levels of non-homogeneous wood structure in the tested
samples significantly increase the variability range of the elasticity modulus. Earlier studies
showed that some defects in pine and spruce wood are more common than others and
therefore have a more significant impact on the deterioration of roundwood quality [51–53].
In the work [54], the authors presented the study of the mechanical properties of walnut
samples, which indicated a tendency for higher static bending strength of wood samples
with more regular annual growth. The structure and density of wood are also related to
the social position of a tree in a forest, as well as its age [55,56]. The mechanical properties
of wood take into account, inter alia, wood anisotropy, which results from the variable
orientation of examined wooden elements and the direction of applied loads in relation to
the main direction of wood anisotropy [9,51,57–62].
The strength properties of wood depend primarily on the decomposition of cellulose
polymers in the cell wall, which forms the supporting skeleton of the wood, and on the
amorphous (amorphous) lignin filling the free spaces of the skeleton. Cellulose affects
the elastic properties as well as the lignin—plastic ones. The average static bending
strength of wood is 75 to 98 MPa, which is lower than the tensile strength but greater
than the compressive strength [63]. In the example of pine and spruce wood samples, the
authors [63] present in Table 5 the effect of knots on the reduction in wood bending strength
in the tangential and radial directions.
Energies 2022, 15, 6660 15 of 19

Table 5. Effect of knots on the tangential and radial bending strength of pine and spruce wood [63].

Tangent Bending Radial Bending

Wood
Strength [MPa] Decrease [%] Strength [MPa] Decrease [%]
Pine
Knot-free 55.2 - 50.2 -
With knots 35.6 35.5 42 16.3
Spruce
Knot-free 56.6 - 53 -
With knots 43.2 23.7 46.4 12.5

In the work [64], a qualitative comparison was made of the behaviour of mixed
glued pine wood in the outer layers and poplar wood in the inner layers. Single-species
laminated timber of poplar and pine samples were used as control systems. The study
included destructive four-point bending tests and three non-destructive methodologies:
the numerical model of the finite element method, the semi-analytical model based on
the parallel axis theorem, and acoustic resonance. Excellent agreement was obtained
between the experimental and numerical results. Despite the small number of samples, the
results showed that the use of poplar as a low-quality species in the inner layers of glued
laminated timber may be a promising technology for reducing the weight of the material
while maintaining good mechanical properties of pine wood. The paper [65] contains an
evaluation of the possibility of producing pine wood glued-construction elements. It was
assumed that pine wood is not free from defects such as knots. The bending strength was
obtained from a four-point bending test and was not related to the class of the wood. The
average bending strength of the beams was 36.6 N/mm2 .
The use of active thermography in wood diagnostics, in particular in determining the
knot area coefficient in elements covered with paint coatings, is discussed in [66]. Moreover,
based on thermal images, the locations of points for semi-destructive tests were determined.
Active thermography studies were carried out on three types of wood elements: fir, pine,
and spruce. The samples were covered with various layers of paint coatings and primers
to reflect the actual historic design elements. The obtained thermal images allowed for
the location of knots due to the temperature difference between the solid wood and the
knots present in it. This study showed that active thermography can be an effective
method for indicating areas in which the test should be performed to properly assess
the technical condition of elements covered with polychrome. Tests and examinations
aiming at identifying and assessing the technical condition of buildings with wooden
elemets that fall under monument protection require referencing to the provisions included
in [67–69]. Another condition that must be met in order to undertake implementation
activities in historic buildings is to preserve their original, historic form as much as possible,
ultimately leading to their conservation and restoration. The assumptions in [69] state that
realisation activities undertaken on monuments are aimed at preserving and revealing the
historic, aesthetic value of these objects and are based on respecting the old substance of
elements constituting authentic documentation of the past. Strengthening historic buildings
is allowed with the use of modern conservation, construction, and engineering techniques
while maintaining the principles of the conservation doctrine. Therefore, each maintenance
plan applying to historic buildings requires qualitative information obtained from the direct
observation of both material deterioration as well as structural failures. The conclusions
drawn from the performed tests are guidelines for the development of work schedules, the
result of which will be the processes directed at removing the causes of destruction and
eliminating their effects. Among the many modern methods, including non-destructive or
quasi-non-destructive solutions, the following methods can be distinguished: the elastic
wave method and the drilling resistance method. The sclerometric method proposed in this
material, in particular by the described dependencies of the measurement results coming
from the method of carrying out reconnaissance tests of surface wooden structures, will
Energies 2022, 15, 6660 16 of 19

allow the obtaining of data that will help to minimize interference in the structure of the
historical tissue of structural elements, i.e., roof trusses. For structural and building analyses
that aim at assessing the impact of destruction on the strength of load-bearing elements,
which limits their further safe use, the information on the actual state of the strength
parameters of the tested cross-section of load-bearing elements is essential analytical
data. Historic Building Information Modeling (HBIM) [70] is an important step in the
renovation task. In situ studies fill the space of real parameters considered by designers and
investors. The conducted analysis is an attempt to obtain the correlation of the load-bearing
parameters of structural elements, which, due to their historical background, must not
be damaged. The use of simple methods is repeatedly preferred by many engineers. As
studies have shown, the parameters measured by the sclerometric method give a clear
correlation of strength parameters along and across the fibers. Analytical modeling of
beams should take into account a number of parameters (knots, moisture content, etc.). The
results obtained in the laboratory tests showed a great variety (Tables 2 and 3), which only
confirmed that wood is a difficult material to analyze.

5. Conclusions
In order to determine the strength parameters of structural elements and perform
the possible verification of in situ tests, it is advisable to take samples, i.e., to use invasive
methods, which are more accurate. To ensure the reliability of the conducted studies, the
damaged viscoelastic materials (DVM) method sets the number of samples in the test batch
from a dozen to several dozen. However, due to the historical importance of the buildings
in question, it is recommended to keep sampling to a minimum. Non-destructive bending
strength testing with a light Schmidt hammer is a non-invasive method that can determine
the initial strength parameters in situ. Tests with the use of a Schmidt hammer for softwood
are innovative. At present, there are no tables or diagrams on the basis of which the strength
class for low-class wood can be read. The objective of this experiment was to create in
the future strength tables and correlation diagrams of plane tests of historical wooden
elements using the sclerometric method for, i.e., degraded wood with a strength lower than
40 MPa. The producers of the device defined guidelines related to the number of strokes
when inserting the needle into the material and the exact place of insertion. The experiment
showed that, for the study of softwood—pine—there was a problem with a too-big needle
recess after 5 strokes. Therefore, for softwood, it is worth considering a smaller number of
strokes. In order to determine the correlation of the obtained parameters, tests from the
front and the side of the beams were carried out. In all cases, the needle recess across the
fibres was smaller than along the fibres. A correlation between the recess from the side and
the recess from the front was noticed, amounting to an average of 0.72 for spruce elements
and 0.70 for pine elements. The authors of this article indicate that the confirmation of
this observation requires conducting further research on various types of wood. It should
also be noted that the material collected from one batch of sawn timber had a different
structure, which was verified by SEM imaging. Obtaining reliable results of experiments
entails collecting a large number of research samples.
Modeling wood numerically is, to some extent, a simplified issue that assumes wood
to be an orthotropic, homogeneous material. In fact, wood is an anisotropic, very hetero-
geneous material. Wood heterogeneity occurs at least on two levels: on the “micro” scale
in the forms of rings, and on the “macro” scale in the form of knots. In this case, it is
pointless to discuss the discretisation of the continuous field of random material properties,
because there is a natural, commonly known and clearly visible discretisation of the mate-
rial structure and its properties [71]. In bending beams, the presence of material defects
in the wood in the tension zone is particularly important. The analysis of wood (on the
technical scale, construction wood) as an anisotropic material is practically impossible—the
y and z axis orientation are hardly ever included. Adopting wood as an isotropic material
is too much of a simplification. Therefore, undoubtedly, the most appropriate method
of assessing the technical condition of wooden elements are destructive methods, since
Energies 2022, 15, 6660 17 of 19

all non-destructive methods should not be used without verifying the results with other
methods. In addition, the results obtained by non-destructive methods are often very
difficult to interpret. According to the literature analysis, the most appropriate method for
determining the strength of embedded wood is destructive methods, all non-destructive
methods should not be used without verifying the results by other methods. Any deviation
from the correct structure of the wood (such as cracks or fiber twists) affects its strength
and thus its sclerometric tests, which are interpreted and not directly read from the device.
The method described in this paper will allow for obtaining the necessary data for
effective expertise assessment regarding the safety level of structural elements of historic
wooden load-bearing structures, which is vital for making conservation decisions.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, B.K. and A.S.-G.; methodology, B.K.; software, B.K.;
validation, B.K. and A.S.-G.; formal analysis, A.S.-G.; investigation, R.P.; resources, M.T.; data
curation, B.K.; writing—original draft preparation, B.K. and M.T.; writing—review and editing,
A.S.-G.; visualization, R.P.; supervision, R.P.; project administration, A.S.-G.; funding acquisition, R.P.
All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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