Analysis of roll tensioning and its influence on circular saw stability

Summary In a typical sawmill, about 12% of the wood which is cut is reduced to sawdust. Further material is lost during subsequent planing. A substantial part of this large loss of a costly natural resource can be saved by the use of thin, stable sawblades, but only if proper saw tensioning conditions are developed. The thickness of a stable sawblade can be minimized through optimal tensioning, an increasingly urgent objective because of sharply rising raw material costs. A theoretical model is presented which accurately describes the development of residual stresses in a roll tensioned circular sawblade and the resulting changes in saw critical speed. This model is essential for the reliable prediction of optimal tensioning conditions for any given saw operating state, and for the development of automated control of the tensioning process. An example is presented of an optimally tensioned circular sawblade for which a 40% thickness reduction is achieved compared with an equivalent untensioned sawblade with the same critical speed.Paper awarded First Place Wood Award Price, Forest Products Research Society, June 1981