Decay Detection of Ancient Wood Rafters in Tibet by Stress Wave Testing Method

Visual classification and stress wave non-destructive testing technology were adopted to evaluate the decay status of ancient Populus wood members （rafters） replaced from the Potala Palace. The decay status of wood members was evaluated by stress wave testing and visual observation. For most of the ancient wood members, the evaluation results by two methods were consistent with each other. Also stress wave testing techniques can find the internal wood member decay to eliminate the hidden hazard for ancient wood members, and offer relatively accurate quantitative information for the safety status of ancient wood members. Thus during the maintaining for ancient architectures, visual observation combined with stress wave testing techniques is a good way to evaluate the degradation of ancient wood members.