ARBOTOM
®
- Manual
7
How does the ARBOTOM
®
work?
The ARBOTOM
®
is an impulse tomograph and is developed for assessment of the interior state of
trees. It will give an insight to trees and should only be used by qualified tree-experts. It is based on
the principle of stress wave timing. Impulse velocities within the wood are highly correlated with the
density of the material and can therefore be used to gather information on its quality. Dense wood
transmits stress waves better than wood that is damage by decay or cracks. To get the best results
possible, the user should have very good knowledge about wood-anatomy.
Each ARBOTOM
®
-sensor is equipped with a vibrometer and electronic regulation for direct real-time
analysis of incoming impulses. Simply hitting the sensors with a hammer generates the stress waves
traveling through the wood. The time the stress waves travel between the sensors is recorded and
transferred into velocities.
Gathering the impulse velocities in a matrix allows them to be presented as a line or surface graphic.
Depending on the number and position of the ARBOTOM
®
-sensors, two dimensional as well as three-
dimensional scans can be performed.
