Modelling of wood drying and an influence of lumber geometry on drying dynamics

Abstract

Modelling of wood drying is analyzed. Wood drying involves moisture transfer from the interior of the wood to the surface, then from the wood surface to the surrounding air. These processes can be characterized by the internal and surface moisture transfer coefficients. A model of the two-dimensional moisture transfer is suggested to determine these coefficients in contrast to the one-dimensional model which was proposed in [12]. The model is based on a diffusion equation with a variable diffusion coefficient. The insufficiency of the one-dimensional model is considered. The influence of the geometry of a lumber on determination of the surface emission and diffusion coefficients and on the dynamics of drying is investigated.