Because of its hardness, wear-resistance, strength, and bending capabilities, beech wood is a widely-used hardwood in Europe. It is mainly used for furniture, floors, construction, veneer boards, and laminated wood. For such uses, the mechanical properties are very important, especially in cases of impact loads. The aim of this work is to analyse the mechanical properties of beech wood samples exposed to compressive force in the longitudinal direction based on different loading rates (in the range from 10 mm/min to 500 mm/min). Stress–strain diagrams were made with the experimental data, and mathematical functions were fit to them. Using the fit functions, the following properties of beech wood samples were determined: the stress and strain at the elastic limit; the maximum stress and associated strain; the modulus of elasticity; the tangent modulus; the specific energy of elastic strain; and the specific energy of plastic strain. The results showed that by increasing the loading rates, the elastic properties of beech wood increase, while the analysed plastic properties do not show a clear tendency of changes with increase of the loading rates.

This study presents a predictive model for estimating the sound absorption coefficient of perforated and non-perforated wooden panels, based on experimental data. Measurements were conducted on four wood species: fir wood (Abies alba), pine wood (Pinus sylvestris), pedunculate oak (Quercus robur), and sessile oak (Quercus petraea) in three panel thicknesses (11 mm, 18 mm and 25 mm), with perforation ratios of 0%, 10%, and 20%. The normal-incidence absorption coefficient was measured using the impedance tube method in accordance with ISO 10534-2. Measurements were performed in a 100 mm impedance tube, selected to match the specimen dimensions; therefore, the analysis is limited to the valid plane-wave frequency range of this tube, between 250 and 1600 Hz. Previous studies have shown that both panel thickness and perforation ratio significantly influence mid- and high-frequency absorption. Our results confirm that increased panel thickness and perforation enhance absorption, consistent with findings reported for micro-perforated and porous wood panels. Based on the measured values, we developed first-order regression functions linking the absorption coefficient to material density, thickness, and perforation percentage. The resulting equations allow reverse estimation of one or more physical parameters to meet target acoustic performance requirements. This data-driven approach provides a practical tool for designing wooden absorbers with predictable behavior and complements existing analytical models for acoustic optimization.