Local water vapor diffusion coefficient when drying Norway spruce sapwood

In this article, a one-dimensional and a two-dimensional approach to the evaluation of local diffusion coefficients for Norway spruce sapwood from measured moisture content (MC) values are presented. A studied wood sample was dried from the initial green condition to about 15% mean MC, but here only the diffusive part of the drying process between approximately 25% and 15% mean MC was treated. Measured local MC values were based on nondestructive X-ray computed tomography data. Finite element calculations were performed with two alternative diffusion coefficients to test the appropriateness of the diffusion coefficients that were evaluated from the measured MC values. The evaluated diffusion coefficients show interesting dependence on MC and distance from the evaporation surface. The advantage of using the methods presented is that the diffusion coefficient is calculated on a local level without having to define a function for the diffusion coefficient’s dependency on other parameters.     

Effects of basic density,annual growth and drying schedule on selected quality factors of dried Siberian larch (Larix sibirica) timber

Abstract

Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) timber is suitable for many uses in the mechanical wood industry. Drying it without any decrease in value, however, is difficult and slow. The purpose of this research was to compare the drying quality of Siberian larch timber dried with three different conventional schedules taking into account the density and annual growth of wood. Five drying tests were performed. The final moisture content (MC), MC gradient, cracks, deformations (bow, crook, twist and cup) and case hardening were measured from the dried timber. The basic density particularly affected the MC, as shown in the differences regarding dried wood, with the denser wood having higher final MC and MC gradient. It was also found that large annual growth increased some deformations. Most of the measured factors were best after drying at the highest temperatures used; however, a slightly different trend was observed for bow, twist and cup. MC factors and twisting were the most problematic properties in drying according to this study. Sorting Siberian larch timber, particularly according to density, would improve the MC properties of dried timber by ensuring sufficient drying time, as economically as possible, for each timber piece.     

Kiln drying behavior of lumber from ten fast-growth plantation species in Costa Rica

Abstract

Plantation wood from tropical climate has been introduced rapidly in the national market; however, there is lack of knowledge about the process. The main objective of this study was to investigate the kiln drying behavior of 10 plantation-grown wood species from natural forest in Costa Rica using the recommended drying schedule. Initial moisture content (MCi), final moisture content (MCf), drying rate, drying time, and drying defects were evaluated. The drying schedule applied produced the following results: (1) high MCi (over 110%) in four species and lower values in two species. (2) The largest drying time was found in species with high MCi, and the shortest drying time in species with lower MCi. (3) Significant variations of target MCf were found in some species, despite equalization and conditioning. (4) Exponential relationship MC=a*?^?t*b was used to establish a moisture content (MC) decrease model, which is not a good indicator of drying time for fives species. (5) High incidence of drying defects was found in Alnus acuminata and Vochysia guatemalensis. According to the above results, it is necessary to test other drying schedule oriented to improve lumber quality and to decrease variability of MC in wood from plantation trees.     

Effect of steam pretreatment on wood moisture content and characteristics of vacuum drying

The effects of high temperature steam pretreatment on the change in wood moisture content (MC) and characteristics of vacuum drying were investigated in this study. Poplar and manchurian walnut woods were pretreated with high temperature steam at 100°C and 140°C, prior to vacuum drying. A comparison of the characteristics of vacuum drying between steam pretreated wood and untreated wood was carried out. The results show that during steam pretreatment, the MC of wood decreased within a few hours. The reduction of MC varied with the temperature; the higher the temperature, the faster the MC dropped. During the vacuum drying stage, the rates of drying of pretreated samples were higher than those of untreated samples when MC was below the fiber saturation point. Furthermore, the total drying time of samples treated at a steam temperature of 140°C was lower than that of untreated samples. Therefore, a vacuum procedure after steam pretreatment can effectively shorten the drying time when drying wood.     

Reaction wood drying kinetics: tension wood in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fagus sylvatica</Emphasis> and compression wood in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea abies</Emphasis>

The drying kinetics of reaction woods in Picea abies (compression wood) and Fagus sylvatica (tension wood) in comparison with their corresponding normal woods was investigated under constant convective drying conditions. Moisture profiles along the thickness of small flat-sawn boards taken from reaction and opposite wood zones were evaluated using a polychromatic X-ray system, a non-destructive method. The results revealed substantial differences in the drying behavior between the reaction and opposite woods. Both reaction woods represented slower drying rate than their matching normal woods mainly during the period of free water loss. However, the reaction and opposite woods reached the final moisture content (MC) of about 12% at the same time due to higher initial MC in the opposite woods. In the case of reaction wood, it took a longer time for the moisture profile to become approximately uniform. Overall, a more striking difference was observed in the drying behavior of compression and opposite wood in P. abies. Some important anatomical differences like the cell and pit dimensions and their proportion give some explanations for these drying behaviors.     

滇产黄毛青冈木材干燥特性的研究

鉴于百度试验法时木材干燥特性研究的不全面性,首先利用百度试验法开展了滇产黄毛青冈材干燥特性的初步研究,提出了预报干燥基础,再据此以地板坯料为干燥对象开展干燥工艺的试验研究,以全面归纳分析黄毛青网材的干燥特性。百度法研究表明：黄毛青冈材的初期开裂为4级,内裂为5级,截面变形1—3级,干燥速度为1-2级。地板料干燥工艺研究表明：采用研究提出的预报基准,23mm厚黄毛青冈地板坯料从初含水率52．3％干燥到12．9％,干燥周期为492h,但干燥质量达不到国家标准中对地板料干燥质量的要求,严重变形和过高的含水率偏差是此中主要原因。综合评定后认为,黄毛青冈属难干材,文中还就其干燥工艺的优化提出了建议。     

Basic density determination for Swedish softwoods and its influence on average moisture content of wood packages estimated by measuring their mass

In this work, a set-up with a device measuring the mass of wood packages is examined as an aid to estimate the average moisture content (MC) of wood packages. As the basic density needs to be presumed in the set-up, an estimator of the basic density as a function of log diameter is determined for Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). In total, 1920 specimens were collected at two different sawmills and analysed for this purpose. Specimens collected at the butt-end of pine had the greatest variation in basic density and it is recommended that they should be omitted when sawmills create their own functions for basic density estimation. Furthermore, the variation in basic density was shown to have the greatest impact on the estimated MC. A maximum error estimator of the MC became 14% at a MC of 70% and 9% at a MC of 10%. It was therefore concluded that the described method should not be used to estimate the MC of packages after drying but can serve as a valuable indicator of average green MC of a drying batch.     

微波和对流联合干燥的试验研究

试验以速生杨树和马尾松为干燥对象,研究了传统的对流干燥、微波干燥及微波和对流联合干燥三种不同供热方式的干燥动力学规律。结果表明:在整个干燥过程中,微波和对流联合干燥能使木材的内、外层含水率分布保持一致;与传统的对流干燥相比,联合干燥可以改善木材质量,提高干燥速度,降低干燥能耗。     

Using near-infrared hyperspectral images on subalpine fir board. Part 1: Moisture content estimation

Abstract

In this study, moisture content (MC) images of subalpine fir (abies lasiocarpa Hook) boards were derived from near-infrared hyperspectral images in the 947–1637 nm range. One hundred and seven cubic samples with the size of 4 cm were prepared from 14 boards. All samples were dried to various MCs during several steps until being completely dried. Hyperspectral images and weight measurements were acquired over each sample at each drying step. The samples have MC ranging from 1% to 137% (dry basis). The images were first calibrated into reflectance. Then, bad pixels were found and replaced by a corrected value using a median filter. A modified version of the boxplot method was used to find abnormal spectra that were then removed. The remaining spectra were converted into absorbance spectra. They were then split into a calibration and a validation data-set according to the boards they were extracted from to build and validate a partial least squares (PLS) regression model between the near-infrared absorbance spectra and the measured MCs. The PLS model was applied first to the sample images, then to the whole board images in order to produce 2D images of MC.     

Cantilever experimental setup for rheological parameter identification in relation to wood drying

Wood exhibits a pronounced time dependent deformation behavior which is usually split into ‘viscoelastic’ creep at constant moisture content (MC) and ‘mechano-sorptive’ creep in varying MC conditions. Experimental determination of model rheological parameters on a material level remains a serious challenge, and diversity of experimental methods makes published results difficult to compare. In this study, a cantilever experimental setup is proposed for creep tests because of its close analogy with the mechanical behavior of wood during drying. Creep measurements were conducted at different load levels (LL) under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. Radial specimens of white spruce wood [Picea glauca (Moench.) Voss.] with dimensions of 110 mm in length (R), 25 mm in width (T), and 7 mm in thickness (L) were used. The influence of LL and MC on creep behavior of wood was exhibited. In constant MC conditions, no significant difference was observed between creep of tensile and compressive faces of wood cantilever. For load not greater than 50% of the ultimate load, the material exhibited a linear viscoelastic creep behavior at the three equilibrium moisture contents considered in the study. The mechano-sorptive creep after the first sorption phase was several times greater than creep at constant moisture conditions. Experimental data were fitted with numerical simulation of the global rheological model developed by authors for rheological parameter identification.     

Real-time wood moisture-content determination using dual-energy X-ray computed tomography scanning

ABSTRACT

The estimation of the pixel-wise distribution of the moisture content (MC) in wood using X-ray computed tomography (CT) requires two scans of the same wood specimen at different MCs, one of which is known. Image-processing algorithms are needed to compensate for the anisotropic distortion that wood undergoes as it dries. An alternative technique based on dual-energy CT (DECT) to determine MC in wood has been suggested by several authors. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the hypothesis that DECT can be used for the determination of MC in real time. A method based on the use of the quotient between the linear attenuation coefficients (μ) at different acceleration voltages (the so-called quotient method) was used. A statistical model was created to estimate the MC in solid sapwood of Scots pine, Norway spruce and brittle willow. The results show a regression model with R²?>?0.97 that can predict the MC in these species with a RMSE of prediction of 0.07, 0.04 and 0.11 (MC in decimal format) respectively and at MC levels ranging from the green to the totally dry condition. Individual measurements of MC show an uncertainty of up to ±0.4. It is concluded that under the conditions prevailing in this study, and in studies referred to in this paper, it is not possible to measure MC with DECT.     

Microwave vacuum drying characteristics of Pinus massoniana wood

Microwave-vacuum (MV) drying characteristics of plantation Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) were studied experimen-tally for various levels of microwave radiation time, initial moisture content (MC), vacuum level and wood thickness. The results show that the process of MV drying for wood can be significantly divided into a short accelerating rate drying period, a long constant rate drying period and falling rate drying period, and the second drying period can extend to levels of mean MC below the fiber satu-r...     

Magnetic resonance imaging used for the evaluation of water presence in wood plastic composite boards exposed to exterior conditions

Abstract

Two wood plastic composite (WPC) boards, one experimental and one commercial, were exposed to exterior conditions and evaluated non-destructively using a clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit for moisture content (MC) and distribution. The experimental board was exposed in Vancouver, British Columbia, for more than 8 years, and the commercial board was exposed near Hilo, Hawaii, for 2 years. Both boards were characterized in terms of wood content, density, water uptake properties and voids content. The experimental board was additionally destructively analysed for water absorption of the WPC and MC calculated based on the wood content for verification of MRI results. MRI detected the presence of free water and its distribution in both of the WPC boards. Fibre saturation in the experimental board was found to be about 22–24%, in comparison to 25–30% present in most wood species. There was good correlation between the detection of free water by MRI and by destructive testing. Magnetic resonance images showed various major points of water entry in the WPC boards such as the support area, the cut ends, the dripping edge and the sides of the boards. For the experimental board, significant water entry also occurred at the upper exposed surface.     

Mathematical modeling to predict drying deformation and stress due to the differential shrinkage within a tree disk

Although many mathematical models for wood drying have been developed to predict the drying behavior of lumber, there were limited results on drying models dealing with tree disks. This study attempted to try to develop mathematical models to predict the drying stresses and crack formation in a tree disk assumed as a cylindrically orthotropic material with radial variations of properties. The results showed that the drying stress changes nonlinearly with decreasing moisture content (MC) due to mechano-sorptive effects. The higher the orthotropic properties of tree disks are, the larger the drying stress occurs. The developed mathematical model showed that the pattern of cracks such as V-crack or heart check significantly depended on the MC distribution along the radial direction. The model also indicated that a dominant factor controlling the drying behavior of tree disk was the differences in MC between heartwood and sapwood within a tree disk of a given species without any chemical or mechanical treatments. Received 8 September 2000 The authors wish to thank Prof. H.S. Jung, Seoul National University, Korea, for his valuable advice. This work was supported by the grant of Post-Doc. Program, Chonbuk National University in Korea (2000).     

Feeding activities of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki and Reticulitermes speratus (Kolbe) as affected by moisture content of wood

The relationship between the moisture content (MC) of wood blocks and the feeding activities of two Japanese subterranean termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki and Reticulitermes speratus (Kolbe), was investigated with two choice tests. When three wood blocks with low MC (6%–12%), middle MC (79%–103%), and high MC (140%–182%) were exposed to workers of C. formosanus and R. speratus in a choice test, the feeding preferences were found in the middle MC blocks for C. formosanus, and the middle and high MC blocks for R. speratus, although wood blocks of low MC were also attacked. In a second choice test, wood blocks consisting of five pieces with water-impregnated (MC: 133%–191%) top, middle, or bottom piece were exposed to workers of both species. Higher consumptions were generally obtained in water-impregnated wood pieces and bottom pieces.     

Collapse and internal checking in the latewood of Eucalyptus regnans F.Muell

Summary Tangential shrinkage was measured on longitudinal-tangential slices of separate earlywood and latewood from one board of Eucalyptus regnans F.Muell. at various temperatures. Large amounts of collapse shrinkage were measured in the latewood slices, and lesser amounts in the earlywood slices. Collapse shrinkage in the earlywood was found only when the slices were dried at temperatures above a minimum temperature (the collapse threshold temperature). End-coated board sections approximately 200 mm long were rapidly dried at dry-bulb temperatures below the collapse threshold temperature for earlywood. Incipient internal checks were found in the latewood of these boards. Board sections dried at higher temperatures showed internal checks starting in both early and latewood. A non-linear drying simulation model was modified to take the heterogeneous nature of wood into account. This model predicted that internal checks would form in this wood even if it were dried sufficiently slowly to avoid surface checking.Symbols D Diffusion coefficient - e_c Creep strain - e_i Instantaneous strain - e_m Mechano-sorptive strain - e_n Net strain - e_u Unconfined shrinkage strain - EW Earlywood - FSP Fibre saturation point - LW Latewood - L-T Longitudinal-tangential slice - MC Moisture content (kg water/kg dry wood) - q Moisture concentration - R-T Radial-tangential slice - t Time - y Depth in board The author is pleased to acknowledge the assistance of Emeritus Professor A. R. Oliver, Associate Professor P. E. Doe, University of Tasmania, and the Australian Furniture Research and Development Institute     

Effect of EMC and air in wood on the new in-process moisture content monitoring concept under radiofrequency/vacuum (RF/V) drying

To improve the accuracy of the new in-process moisture content (MC) monitoring concept under radiofrequency/vacuum (RF/V) drying, equilibrium moisture content (EMC) tests were carried out under various ambient pressures, and pressure curves in wood were analyzed during chamber evacuation and heating phases. The results showed that EMC increased with a decrease in ambient pressure regardless of temperature, relative humidity (RH), and species. The accuracy of MC estimation for Hinoki under RF/V drying was improved from 1.5% maximum absolute errors to 0.6% after EMC modification. The pressure curves for Hinoki and Sugi under RF/V drying showed similar tendencies to an idealized process. Russian larch showed different curves, indicating that the pressure in the wood did not reach the ambient pressure because of its low permeability. Therefore, MC could not be estimated using this monitoring concept because of the presence of much air in the wood of Russian larch.     

Moisture content and strain relation in wood by Bragg grating sensor and unilateral NMR

The paper describes a low-invasive experimental apparatus designed for the accurate determination of mechanical deformation and moisture content (MC) relationship on macroscopic wood samples. The device is particularly indicated for monitoring wooden handwork whose mechanical deformation is especially critical in relation to its role such as, for example, works of art or architectural works. The MC of wood is measured with a portable single-sided NMR probe and mechanical deformation by a fiber Bragg grating optical sensor. The data obtained are of high accuracy, despite the dimensions of the sample. The methodology provides an effective tool for investigating the dynamic relation between environmental relative humidity, MC, and shrinking–swelling of wood. Adsorption results collected for longitudinal deformation in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) are presented to show the sensitivity of the optical sensor. Interesting findings include the detection of two different mechanisms of elongation and the time evolution of water mobility versus hydration and strain.     

Construction of a novel densitometer that utilizes a near-infrared laser system with Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

Abstract

A novel densitometer consisting of a continuous wave near-infrared (NIR) laser source and an avalanche photodiode module as the detector has been designed, which can rapidly and non-destructively measure the density of wood. The wood density of a small area (3.14 mm²) at the radial-transverse face was continuously estimated using the intensity of the transmitted light with the aid of the modified Lambert-Beer law. By conducting a validity evaluation with statistical coefficients, it was shown that the constructed system could obtain the sharp density profile compatible with X-ray densitometer [Root mean squared error of calibration (RMSEC) = 0.045 g cm^?3, Root mean squared error of validation (RMSEV) = 0.046 g cm^?3). It was concluded that the constructed NIR device has high performance from the viewpoint of operability, measuring time and safety.