Detection of Termite Attack to Wood Stakes in a Monitoring Station Using Ceramic Gas Sensors and Acoustic Emission (AE) Sensor

IRG/WP 03-20271

Y Yanase, Y Fujii, S Okumura, T Yoshimura, Y Imamura, T Maekawa, K Suzuki

To evaluate the termite activity in monitoring stations non-destructively, metabolic gas from termites and acoustic emission generated by feeding of termites were measured. Ten cylindrical stations with small wood stakes of Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) were buried around a house attacked by Coptotermes formosanus SHIRAKI. A sample air in the station was collected by sucking through a drilled hole of the station lid and analyzed using two types of ceramic gas sensors (odour- and hydrogen-selective sensors). Acoustic emissions (AEs) were detected by a PZT sensor attached to the cross section of one of the small stakes in the station. The concentrations of two components of the collected gas, odour and hydrogen, and AE event rate per 2 minutes were measured periodically from December 2001 to February 2003. The infestation activity in the station was also evaluated by visual inspection. In the early stage of the experiment, from the first to the third measurements, neither AEs nor significant level of the gas concentration was detected, and no termite was found in any stations. A higher gas concentration of odour and hydrogen and a larger number of AE events were detected since termites have invaded in the stations. These findings suggest that termite attack in the monitoring station can be evaluated by using two types of the gas sensors and AE sensor.


Keywords: Termite attack, monitoring station, non-destructive detection, ceramic gas sensor, metabolic gas, acoustic emission, AE

Conference: 03-05-18/23 Brisbane, Australia


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