Correlation between Anatomical Grading and Acoustic–Elastic Properties of Resonant Spruce Wood Used for Musical Instruments

Florin Dinulică,Adriana Savin,Mariana Domnica Stanciu

doi:10.3390/f12081122

Abstract

This paper deals with the acoustic and elastic properties of resonant wood, classified into four classes, according to the classification of wood quality by the manufacturers of musical instruments. Traditionally, the quality grades of resonant wood are determined on the basis of the visual inspections of the macroscopic characteristics of the wood (annual ring width, regularity, proportion of early and late wood, absence of defects, etc.). Therefore, in this research, we studied whether there are correlations between the acoustic and elastic properties and the anatomical characteristics of wood used for the construction of violins. The results regarding the identification of the anatomical properties of resonant spruce, the wood color, and the acoustic/elastic properties, determined by ultrasonic measurements, were statistically analyzed to highlight the connection between the determined properties. From the statistical analysis, it can be seen that the only variables with the power to separate the quality classes are (in descending order of importance) the speed of sound propagation in the radial direction, Poisson’s ratio in the longitudinal–radial direction, and the speed of propagation of sounds in the longitudinal direction.

Highlights

Numerous studies concerning the acoustical behavior of violins refer to the similarities and differences in the tonal qualities, produced by good and bad, and old and new instruments, depending on various factors [1,2,3,4]
The aim of this paper was to identify the acoustic properties of the material that best depict the quality classes defined by anatomical criteria within the resonant spruce
This paper aimed to determine the acoustic and elastic characteristics of resonant spruce wood and correlate them with the anatomical patterns of tonewood, which was classified into four quality classes, according to its use by violin manufacturers

Summary

Introduction

Numerous studies concerning the acoustical behavior of violins refer to the similarities and differences in the tonal qualities, produced by good and bad, and old and new instruments, depending on various factors [1,2,3,4]. The behavior of wood in the acoustic field is conditioned by its elastic properties, which are characterized by the longitudinal modulus of elasticity, the shear modulus, and Poisson’s ratio, according to the three planes of the anisotropy of wood (longitudinal, radial, tangential). The size of these constants is critical in the selection of resonant wood. Numerous studies have shown the existence of close correlations between the physical properties of the resonant wood structure and the elastic ones [7,8,9]

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