A Simple Assessment Method for Mass of Cross Beams of Timber Guardrails

Abstract

The vibration method with additional mass (VAM), by which the mass of a specimen can be obtained without weighing the specimen, was applied to round bars to develop a simple testing method for estimating the deterioration of a cross beam in a timber guardrail without having to dismantle the cross beam from the posts of the guardrail. Small, clear round bars (diameter: 50, 75, 100 mm, length: 1000 mm) and cross beams from a timber guardrail (diameter: 200 mm, length: 1980 mm) were used as the specimens. Bending vibration tests were performed on the round bars with and without a concentrated mass. The estimation accuracy of the VAM was affected by the ideality of the end condition of the round bar and was improved based on the ideality of the end condition of the round bar. A simple method was proposed for the onsite estimation of the mass of a cross beam of a timber guardrail using the VAM.