Fundamentals of flakeboard manufacture: wood-moisture relationships

Summary A procedure is presented to estimate the relative vapor pressure, equilibrium moisture content, average flake temperature, and average flake moisture content in a flakeboard mat during hot-pressing. This method is based on measurements of temperature and total gas pressure in the mat during hot-pressing. A heat and mass transfer model was adapted from the literature to predict the temperature and moisture content inside an individual flake. Significant moisture gradients are predicted to develop within flakes. Convective heat transfer appears to control the change of moisture content within a flake. Thermodynamic equilibrium between the gas phase and the wood component is not achieved during hot-pressing.This work was funded by the USDA Competitive Grant Program for Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources, Project No. 85-FSTY-9-0106 and 87-FSTY-9-0253     

Some considerations in heterogeneous nonisothermal transport models for wood: a numerical study

This study compares a number of coupled heat and mass transfer models and presents numerical comparisons of phenomenological coefficients between the four models (Stanish, Perre, Pang, and Avramidis) that are most frequently used in the literature to describe wood-drying processes. The USDA sorption isotherm, the Hailwood-Horrobin model, was adopted to calculate the relations between moisture content in wood and water vapor pressure at any temperature. Due to different assumptions about the driving forces of heat and mass transfer, coefficients in each model represent different values for moisture content and temperature and are closely related to each other. In the case of isothermal mass transfer, the moisture diffusion coefficient in the transverse directions from the Stanish and Pang models increased with decreasing moisture content. This contradicts the Avramidis and Perre models and numerous experimental results. Thermal diffusion effects on the drying process may not be predominant because the nonisothermal state is relatively short. Therefore, the Perre model, which does not consider the thermal diffusion effect, has been used successfully in the drying simulation. However, it may be erroneous in certain cases when the nonisothermal state prevails over the system, such as building physics. The Pang model cannot explain the phenomena of thermal diffusion and moisture thermodiffusion. It might be reasonable to modify the thermal diffusion of the Avramidis model, which is lower than that of the Stanish model. The apparent heat diffusivity was higher than the true heat diffusivity.     

木材干燥过程含水率和温度变化的数学模型研究

木材干燥过程存在着热质互换和能量的转移,这为从热力学的角度研究木材干燥过程提供了前提条件,因此提出利用热力学原理分析木材干燥过程含水率和温度变化规律的数学模型.首先建立描述含水率和温度变化的高阶非线性偏微分方程组,然后采用有限元分析原理将方程组离散化,再经过一系列数学运算得到方程的收敛解,具体方法为牛顿迭代法,最后通过对木材含水率和温度变化情况仿真结果的分析,验证该方法的可行性及数学模型的准确性.     

A new method for nondestructive evaluation of solid wood moisture content based on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

This paper presents a new method to determine the moisture content of solid wood based on the principle of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The study investigates the theoretical relationship between X-ray wavelength and mass attenuation coefficients of wood, water, and reference substance. In accordance with this relationship, a theoretically obtained equation is proposed to calculate the moisture content in wood. The proposed equation is compared to experimental results using small blocks of sugi wood, which showed that the change in mass attenuation coefficient of wood with X-ray tube voltage increased with increasing moisture content as expected from the theoretical equation. A regression equation for moisture content estimation was determined based on the experimental results, and the standard error of estimate in the 0–120 % dry-basis moisture content range using the regression equation was determined to be 21.9 % with the most appropriate pair of tube voltages, 15 and 40 kVp. The accuracy of the method will be improved by reducing the duration of X-ray radiography and by increasing the disparity between paired tube voltages. This method has the potential to determine moisture content of solid wood using X-ray without oven-drying or assuming oven-dry density.     

Experimental determination of the convective heat and mass transfer coefficients for wood drying

The knowledge of the convective heat and mass transfer coefficients is required for the characterization of the boundary conditions of the heat and mass transfer equations of a wood drying model based on water potential. A new experimental method for the determination of the convective mass transfer coefficient is presented. This method is based on the measurement of the moisture content, and indirectly the water potential, at the surface of a wood specimen at different drying times. Drying experiments were performed on red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) sapwood from nearly saturated to dry conditions at 56 °C, 52% relative humidity and air velocities of 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 m s⁻¹. The results show that the convective mass transfer coefficient is constant until the wood surface moisture content reaches about 80% and then decreases more or less gradually as the moisture content decreases further. The convective mass transfer coefficient increases with air velocity. A regression analysis shows that there is no significant improvement in considering the water potential gradient near the wood surface when the difference in water potential between the surface and the surrounding air (ψ_s − ψ_∞) is used to determine the convective mass flux at the surface. Also, ψ_s − ψ_∞ is more appropriate than the water vapour pressure difference (pv_s − pv_∞) as the responsible driving force of the moisture flux leaving the wood surface. The convective heat transfer coefficient was determined during the same experiments. A plateau is observed at high values of moisture content corresponding to the constant drying rate period. Received 27 February 1998     

An irreversible thermodynamics model for unsteady-state nonisothermal moisture diffusion in wood

Summary A model that predicts heat and moisture transfer through wood in the hygroscopic range and which is based on the principles of irreversible thermodynamics, was evaluated with unsteady-state nonisothermal moisture desorption experimental data. The model predicted the phenomenon of thermal diffusion during the initial stages of desorption and results in a very good simulation of the desorption curve and the center's temperature change with time.Symbols C_p specific heat of air (= 0.24 cal/g K @ 70 °C) - C_T specific heat of wood, cal/g K - D transverse diffusion coefficient, cm²/s - E_b activation energy, cal/mol - E_o heat of vaporization, cal/mol - E_L differential heat of sorption, cal/mol - G specific gravity of wood - H relative humidity, % - h_T convective heat transfer coefficient, cal/cm² s K - h_c convective mass transfer coefficient based on the concentration of moisture in wood, cm/s - h_v convective mass transfer coefficient based on the concentration of moisture in the air in equilibrium with the wood surface, cm/s - K_M coefficient for diffusion due to moisture gradient, g/cm s % - K_T transverse thermal conductivity coefficient, cal/cm K s - M moisture content, % - P_o saturated vapor pressure, atm - R universal gas constant, cal/mol K (= 82.056 cm³ atm/mol K) - t time, s - T temperature, K - x distance, cm Greek Letters evaporation or condensation criterion - wood density, g/cm³ - _W water density (=1), g/cm³ - _a air density, g/cm³ Department of Wood Science and Forest Products Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blackburg, Virginia 24061-0503     

ANALYSIS OF THE THERMOPHYSICAL PARAMETERS OF MOIST WOOD PARTICLE MATERIAL IN A COUPLED HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER PROCESS OF FREEZING BY USING FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

he coupled heat and moisture transfer in a freezing process of wood particle mate-rial was mathematically modeled in the paper.The models were Interactively solved by using thenumerical method(the finite element method and the finite difference method).By matching thetheoretical calculation to an experiment,he nonlinear problem was analyzed and the variablethermophysical parameters concerned was evaluated.The analysis procedure and the evaluation ofthe parameters were presented in detail.The result of the study showed that by using the method asdescribed in the paper,it was possible to determine the variable(with respect to temperature,mois-ture content and freezing state)thermophysical parameters which were unknown or difficult tomeasure as long as the governing equations for a considered process were available.The methodcan signifieantly reduces the experiment efforts for determining thermophysical parameters whichare very complicated to measure.The determined variable of the effective heat conductivi     

Introducing an overall mass-transfer coefficient for prediction of drying curves at low-temperature drying rates

The aim of this study is to justify that the drying rate of wood can be represented by a phenomenological model defining a driving force expressed as the difference between the average wood moisture content and the equilibrium wood moisture content. The results show that the mathematical relation proposed is valid when introducing an overall mass transfer coefficient, K, at low temperature wood-drying rates.     

木材热压干燥研究现状与应用前景

文中综述了木材热压干燥理论及试验研究,分析了热压干燥工艺对干燥时间、干燥质量和物理力学性能的影响;为了对木材热压干燥过程进行预测和工艺控制,归纳了木材热压干燥传热传质规律以及数学模型构建与求解的研究现状,也为更好地建立和完善木材热压干燥数学模型与干燥工艺奠定了基础;指出木材热压干燥及传热传质模型研究中存在的主要问题,对完善木材热压干燥机理研究与传热传质数学模型构建提出建议,并对热压干燥在人工林木材中的应用进行了展望,可为人工林木材高效高附加值利用提供参考。     

高温热处理木材吸湿特性

【目的】研究高温热处理对人工林樟子松、杉木、美洲黑杨木材平衡含水率和吸湿特性的影响,为科学评价热处理木材吸湿特性提供理论基础,为人工林木材高附加值利用和实际高温热处理木材生产提供参考。【方法】以水蒸气为保护介质,设定180、200和220 ℃3个温度进行高温热处理,采用双室温、湿度控制法,在25 ℃环境中以8种不同类型饱和盐溶液精确控制水蒸气相对湿度进行等温吸附试验,运用Hailwood-Horrobin模型拟合等温吸附曲线,分析高温热处理对木材水蒸气等温吸附曲线线形、平衡含水率、单层分子吸附水和多层分子吸附水的影响。【结果】 180、200和220 ℃处理后,试样吸湿平衡含水率均值相当于素材含水率均值的80%、70%和50%左右;3个树种素材试样和高温热处理材试样均表现为第2类等温吸附曲线形态特征,Hailwood-Horrobin模型能够较好拟合不同树种素材和高温热处理材等温吸附曲线,不同热处理条件试样等温吸附曲线的拟合度均高于0.980 0,处理温度越高,等温吸附曲线越接近直线;高温热处理后代表含有单位摩尔数吸附位的绝干木材质量参数( W )显著增加,不同相对湿度下高温热处理材的单层分子吸附水和多层分子吸附水含量也随之降低;180、200和 220 ℃处理后,木材试样单层分子吸附水含量相较于素材下降20%、30%和50%左右,高温热处理对多层分子吸附水含量影响规律与之相近;高温热处理后单层分子吸附水、多层分子吸附水和吸附水总量的最大值相较于素材明显下降,且处理温度越高,下降幅度越大。【结论】高温热处理可明显降低3个树种试样的吸湿平衡含水率,且处理温度越高,平衡含水率下降幅度越大;高温热处理会一定程度影响木材等温吸附曲线线形,Hailwood-Horrobin模型可用于描述高温热处理材等温吸附曲线,且拟合度较高;高温热处理可明显降低3个树种试样等温吸附过程单层分子吸附水和多层分子吸附水含量,且处理温度越高影响越明显,单层分子吸附水和多层分子吸附水最大含量均明显降低,进而影响吸附水总量最大值。     

Thermal behaviors and transitions of wood detected by temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry

The thermal properties and transitions of solid and ground wood samples conditioned at different humidity conditions were investigated by temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry. A time-dependent transition was detected as an endothermic peak in the total and non-reversing heat flows and as a step change in the reversing heat flow during the first heating run of samples with moisture contents above 5?%, but it disappeared in the second heating run. These different thermal behaviors indicate that the effect of heat and moisture on the thermal properties of wood is history dependent. This step change in the reversing heat flow is considered to be a glass transition of moist wood. Other relaxation processes (e.g., enthalpy relaxation) occur simultaneously with this glass transition. The temperature ranges of the transition and the relaxation decreased drastically as the moisture content increased up to 11?%, while they remained almost constant at higher moisture contents. In addition, the transitions of the ground wood occurred at lower temperatures than those of the solid wood at similar moisture contents. Kissinger plots revealed that the apparent activation energy for the glass transition of the solid wood with a moisture content of 11?% was about 600?kJ/mol, whereas that of the ground wood was 220?kJ/mol.     

刨花对流干燥过程的传热传质研究动态

详细介绍并归纳多孔介质与木材领域内的传热传质理论研究概况,从中寻找出适合研究刨花对流干燥过程传热传质的方法.经过理论分析,提出可根据非平衡热力学理论和相平衡理论,建立一个描述刨花对流干燥时刨花外部对流传热传质和内部热、湿迁移过程的非平衡热力学模型.     

AN ANALYSIS OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFERPHENOMENON IN WOOD DURING DRYING

INTRODUCTIONTheconventionaltwingmethodisgener-all3usedduringwoocldryinginChinaandothercountriesatpresent.Fluidvelocity,tem-peratUreandrelativehumidityofdryingmediaarecontrolledmainlybymoisbecontentofwood'dunngwtingprocess.Soitisveryim-portanttounderstandthephenomenonofheatandmasstransferinwoodduringdIyingproc-essformakingreasonablythewtingtechnoI-ogy-controlwtingprocess,heightenwtingquality'.decreasewtingenergyconsumptionanddiminishwtingtime.Thephenomenonofheatandmasstrans-ferinwooddurin…     

微波预热MDF板坯的实验研究

利用微波对MDF板坯进行预热处理的研究结果表明,微波预热处理不仅能够在很短时间内提升板坯的温度,还能使板坯内的水分重新分布。通过处理,板坯表层的水分得到了提高,芯层水分被降低。这一结果有利于板坯在热压时热量从表层向芯层传递,从而缩短热压时间,提高生产效率。     

白橡热压干燥材等温吸湿特性研究

以白橡热压干燥材为研究对象,利用动态水分吸附仪研究了不同热压温度干燥处理后白橡木材和未处理对照材的等温吸湿特性,并采用H-H模型拟合;分析热压干燥对木材吸湿特性的降低机理。结果表明:白橡木材等温吸湿线皆为IUPAC Ⅱ型等温吸湿线。在任意相对湿度下,热压干燥材平衡含水率均明显低于对照材,且热压温度越高,平衡含水率降低越明显。H-H模型对白橡木材等温吸湿数据表现出良好的拟合效果。单分子层和多分子层含水率降低共同作用使得热压干燥材吸湿性降低,且相对湿度越高,多分子层水的减少对吸湿性的降低作用越大。与对照材相比,热压干燥材(140、150 ℃和160 ℃)的纤维饱和点推测值分别降低8.89%、11.76%和13.62%。白橡热压干燥材吸湿性降低机理主要为游离羟基等亲水基团含量减少和细胞壁刚度增加等。     

Experimental measurements of heat and mass transfer during convective drying of southern pine

Summary The transport of heat and moisture during the convective drying of southern pine was examined experimentally. Moisture distribution within the wood samples was measured using gamma attenuation. The accuracy of these measurements was found to be moisture content dependent with estimated uncertainties ranging from 29.5% at 10% moisture content to 6.8% at 120% moisture content. Local moisture content measurements reveal large inflections at high moisture contents. Peaks in moisture content are closely correlated with low fwood density and vice versa. Above the fiber saturation point the measured drying rate is not a well defined function of the moisture content. This is perhaps due to the biological variability of wood as well as grain orientation, although no definite conclusions could be drawn from the data with regard to the effect of grain orientation. The drying rate does not appear to be highly temperature dependent at high moisture contents. Below the fiber saturation point where diffusion is expected to be the dominant transport mechanism, the drying rate is less affected by biological variability and grain orientation, however, the effects of temperature are evident.The authors wish to acknowledge the support of this work by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number CME-7906367. We must also express our appreciation to staff members at Weyerhaeuser Technology Center who supplied us with wood samples. In addition to the authors, Mr. T. R. Brown, S. H. Moen, and D. Chow played a critical role in gathering much of the data     

Cooling and steam conditioning after high-temperature drying of Pinus radiata board: experimental investigation and mathematical modelling

 Steam conditioning of softwood boards after kiln drying is of critical importance for relief of residual drying stresses and to improve distribution of final moisture content. The conditioning practice in New Zealand includes two steps: immediately after high temperature (HT) drying the load is cooled until the core wood temperature is 75 to 90°C, and then the stack is steam conditioned for a period of 1 to 4 hours depending on the lumber thickness and moisture content after drying. In this work, experimental and theoretical studies were performed to better understand the conditioning process and to investigate factors which influence its effectiveness. In the experiment, 50 mm thick Pinus radiata sapwood boards were first dried at 120/70°C for 11, 12, 13, 16 and 18 hours, respectively, to varying moisture contents, and then cooled and steam conditioned for 1 hour. To assess the effectiveness of conditioning, moisture pick-up, moisture gradient, and transverse residual drying stress (indicated by cup and strain) were measured. It was found that drying wood to a low moisture content (below 6%) increased the conditioning effectiveness. A separate matched stack was conditioned for 4 hours after 13 hours drying which showed better results than 1 hour conditioning. A mathematical model for wood drying was extended to include both the cooling and conditioning phases. The model was numerically solved to examine the wood temperature and moisture content changes during the whole process of drying, cooling and final steam conditioning. Increase in wood temperature, moisture pickup and moisture gradient during steam conditioning were predicted and validated by the experimental data. This information is currently being used at the New Zealand Forest Research Institute in simulation of stress development and relief for drying of Pinus radiata lumber. Received 6 July 1998     

木材导热系数的研究

本文运用非平衡态热力学线性理论分析了含水率在纤维饱和点以下木材的传热,结果表明木材中的水蒸汽和束缚水参与了传热,木材导热系数由传导导热系数与因水蒸汽和束缚水扩散产生的两个等效导热系数组成。推广Siau关于木材细胞的导热理论,依据水分吸附和扩散的原理,导出了木材弦向和径向导热系数计算公式,与已发表的36种气干材弦向实验值和23种气干材径向实验值符合较好。分析木材径向传热的方法也适用于木材纵向传热。     

Thermal diffusion in Masson pine wood

In order to analyze the effects of the temperature gradient on moisture movement during the highly intensive microwave-vacuum drying, thermal diffusion of Masson pine wood was studied. Internal distribution of temperature and moisture in Masson pine samples sealed by epoxy resin and aluminum foil was measured, the magnitude of thermal diffusion was calculated and the influencing factors of thermal diffusion were discussed. Results showed that with the transfer of moisture toward the low temperature in wood, opposite temperature and moisture gradient occurred. The initial moisture content （MC）, temperature and time are important factors affecting this process; the thermal diffusion is in proportion to wood temperature, its initial moisture and time. The temperature and distance from hot surface is strongly linearly correlated, and the relationship between MCs at different locations and distance from the hot end surface changes from logarithmically form to exponentially form with the increase in experimental time.     

Internal mass transfer coefficient during drying of softwood (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) boards

A drying experiment with 36 mm thick softwood boards having an average initial moisture content of approximately 1.2 (dry basis) was performed. Drying temperatures of 40, 60 and 80°C were used. Relative humidity and superficial air velocity were maintained at 40% and 3.0 m s^?1, respectively. Internal moisture content was monitored along the process in the single direction of the internal flux of water. Loss in mass of the entire timber board was also determined. An effective coefficient of mass transfer was tuned to internal experimental profiles of moisture content by involving the Fick’s second law. An explicit finite difference method for the numerical solution of the mass balance represented by the Fick’s equation was combined with the simplex method of optimization to obtain a mass transport parameter in the magnitude of 1.5–3.5 × 10^?9 m² s^?1. A positive and significant effect of temperature on the effective diffusion coefficient, which was well described by an Arrhenius type expression, was deduced from this investigation. Although a negative effect of the average moisture content on the internal resistance to mass transfer was also observed, it was much less evident; mainly above the wood fiber saturation point. A negligible influence of the local moisture content on the investigated transport parameter was noticed when either a linear or a nonlinear model correlating these variables was adopted.