Drying Kinetics of Pinus Rqdiata Boards at Elevated Temperatures

ABSTRACT

From the numerical results of a rigorous, mathematical model, the rate–o–drying curves for high–temperature seasoning of Pinus radiata board show that the drying process can be divided into three periods. Based on the mechanistic picture of moisture movement and differences in the movement in each period, this paper simplifies the model by using the concept of the haracteristic drying curve.

In heartwood drying, the first period is very short (5–15 minutes), hence it can be neglected, whereas for sapwood, the first period is substantial with the drying rate being taken as constant in the analysis. Since the physical characteristics of the second and third drying periods are different, separate characteristic drying curves have been developed for each period. It has been found that common normalised drying curves are able to describe the results generated from the earlier model for normal range of kiln conditions over the examined ranges in dry–bulb temperatures of 1 10–140°C, wet–bulb temperatures of 70–90°C and air velocity of 3–7 m s^-1. Therefore. the derived simplified model can directly be used to calculate kiln–wide variations in moisture content and drying rate.

Keywords and phrases:

• heanwood
• high temperature
• normalised moisture content
• relative drying rate
• sapwood