In the 1990s, structural engineers and biologists collaborated on the “Stuttgart Strength Catalog,” which applied engineering methods of strength testing to the study of trees. With the significant involvement of Dr. Lothar Wessolly, measurements of the strength of wood were taken at the Institute for Model Statics, an application-oriented “affiliated institute” of the university. These measurements are important for the expert assessment of the strength of endangered trees. Since tree trunks usually fail due to pressure rather than tension, pressure tests are particularly important. Our exhibit comes from a pressure test in which the trunk finally burst.
The "Stuttgarter Festigkeitskatalog" is still used today by tree structural engineers (see determination of basic safety by means of the statically integrated tree assessment - SIA), but there are also contradictions to it in literature - this, however, is a topic of structural engineers, not botanists.
Hawthorn trunk
Creator: Institute for Structural Analysis and Dynamics of Aerospace Structures
Date: 1991–2000
Dimensions: 6 x 6 x 11 cm