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