Developing mass timber building inspection methodologies using resistance drilling data and artificial intelligence
Research Team:
Gerry Presley
Opeyemi Odule
Project Date:
September 16th, 2025
September 16th, 2025
Facilities:
Richardson Hall
Introduction/Background
Resistance drills are tools used to detect density and decay in standing trees and utility poles by sensing the feed and drilling resistance of the wood. In whole-log applications, the wood retains its regular pattern of early wood and late wood in the rings, which makes anomalies easier to find and interpret. These drills could also be powerful tools to assess the structure of mass timber elements over time, because they should be able to detect voids, delamination or decay. However, mass timber applications present an added challenge in interpreting the data because of the bond lines and changes in the grain across lams.
The purpose of this project is to assess the utility of resistance drills for mass timber, in terms of what features can be detected, how early they can be detected, and if they can be differentiated from other features. It also aims to develop methods and tools that can be used to monitor the structural health of standing structures and inform the early identification of issues.
Research Methods
Resistance drill data is being collected from samples of CLT and MPP that have been subjected to treatments intended to deteriorate the wood to controlled levels. To induce delamination, the samples were subjected to moisture content cycling. To induce decay, sterilized samples were inoculated with decay fungus that was then allowed to develop for up to 8 months.
Each sample is being drilled using two resistance drills and then dissected so that individual features along the needle path (including gluelines, delaminations, etc.) can be correlated to the features in the data. In the case of decay, the resistance data are being collected over time in order to get a better understanding of the sensitivity of the instrument to progressive change. Early and later stages of decay are being generated for analysis to assess how early in the decay process the instruments can detect a problem.
Key Findings
In progress.
Publications & Presentations (and/or Relevant Resources)
Mass Timber Building Inspection Using Resistance Drilling
Opeyemi Odule* (Oregon State University), Gerald Presley (Oregon State University), Laurence Schimleck (Oregon State University), Mariapaola Riggio (Oregon State University), Vahid Nasir (Oregon State University); Society of Wood Science and Technology International Convention, June 15-20, 2025, Ft. Collins, CO, Poster.
Developing Mass Timber Building Inspection Methodologies Using Resistance Drilling Data and Artificial Intelligence (2025)
Opeyemi Odule* (Oregon State University), Gerald Presley (Oregon State University), Laurence Schimleck (Oregon State University), Mariapaola Riggio (Oregon State University), Vahid Nasir, Mass Timber Conference, March 25-27, 2025, Poster.
Photos/ Diagrams (if possible – goal of 2+)
Figure 1: Image of dissected intact MPP controls showing a resistance drill path exposed along the sawn face of the dissected specimen. 
Figure 2: Photo of 8 x 8 inch MPP specimen after exposure to a brown rot fungus for a 1 month incubation period. 
Figure 3: Photo of WSE MSc student Opeyemi Odule performing resistance drill measurements on 8 x 8 inch MPP samples using an IML resistance drill. Funding Acknowledgements
TDI ARS