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Basics of Wood Drying

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-81315-4_13

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 Basics of Wood Drying
13
Stavros Avramidis, Ciprian Lazarescu, and Sohrab Rahimi

Contents
13.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679 specially designed chambers where under controlled
ambient conditions most of the water present in the
13.2 Heat and Mass Transfer in Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680
pores and cell walls of wood is removed. This water
13.3 Wood Drying Kinetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683 extraction is necessary for further utilization, performance
13.3.1 Drying Air Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683
of wood, and longer service life. Wood drying is classified
13.3.2 Moisture Profiles Within Drying Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684
13.3.3 Drying Curve and Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686 as a separation operation and water needs to be removed
from a multiphase system consisting of a complicated
13.4 Drying Stresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686
13.4.1 Free Shrinkage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686 solid structure. Therefore, the drying operation can be
13.4.2 Restrained Shrinkage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687 elucidated by treating it as a simultaneous heat, mass,
13.4.3 Drying Stress Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687 and momentum transfer set of phenomena involving
13.5 Drying Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688 phase change of water within the complex material that
13.5.1 Conventional Kiln Drying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689 is wood. This chapter provides a basic and applied
13.5.2 Vacuum Drying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690 description of wood drying from the fundamental mois-
13.6 Modeling of the Drying Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695 ture and thermal energy transfer to modeling and thereaf-
13.7 Drying Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
ter, a description of the most common practices related to
13.7.1 Moisture Variability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700 this followed by the wood products industry worldwide.
13.7.2 Shape Distortions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
13.7.3 Checking (Cracking) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702 Keywords
13.7.4 Casehardening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
13.7.5 Discolorations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703 Timber Drying · Kinetics · Modeling · Methods ·
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704 Moisture profiles · Stresses · Defects · Variability ·
Quality

Abstract
13.1 Introduction
Drying is one of the most important processing steps in the
production of timber and many of the wood composites. One of the most important unit operations (basic process
During this process, freshly cut timber, veneer, strands, or steps) in the production of timber and many of the wood
wood particles of various shapes and sizes are placed in composites is drying. During this process, freshly cut tim-
ber, veneer, or wood particles of various shapes and sizes
are placed in specially designed chambers where under
controlled ambient conditions most of the water that is
S. Avramidis (*) · S. Rahimi naturally present in the pores and cell walls of wood is
Department of Wood Science, University of British Columbia,
removed. This water removal is necessary for further utili-
Vancouver, BC, Canada
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] zation of wood. Water removal or otherwise referred to as
“reduction of moisture content” is paramount for better
C. Lazarescu
FPInnovations, Vancouver, BC, Canada performance, longer service life, and transportation cost
e-mail: [email protected] reduction [1].

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 679

P. Niemz et al. (eds.), Springer Handbook of Wood Science and Technology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81315-4_13
680 S. Avramidis et al.

The drying of wood is classified as separation operation. 13.2 Heat and Mass Transfer in Wood
To obtain the desired solid phase and water content mix,
water needs to be removed from a multiphase system Removing water from a wood is a process that requires three
consisting of a complicated solid structure. Therefore, the controllable variables when the material is placed inside a
drying operation can be elucidated by treating it as a simul- chamber (dryer) and atmospheric conditions (to distinguish
taneous heat, mass, and momentum transfer set of phenom- from vacuum drying). The first is thermal energy that is
ena involving phase change of water within the complex expressed as temperature (T ) needed to excite the water
material that is wood. Drying involves simultaneous transport molecules and provide them with the kinetic energy required
of mass (water and water vapor), heat, and momentum and is to evaporate (heat of vaporization – phase change), but also
described by “basic equations” that take the form of simulta- the energy to move (mass transfer) within wood toward the
neous differential equations representing water and heat surfaces of the board. The second is reduced concentration of
fluxes. Mass transport has to overcome forces related to water molecules in the air expressed as relative humidity (H )
capillarity at the liquid phase level in the porous that will allow the development of the pressure or concentra-
sub-structure of wood and molecular forces in the cell wall tion differential in water molecules between the insides of the
nano-level. Multiphase flows in porous wood are more com- board and the air which will drive mass transfer. The third is
plex in description when anisotropy is considered. Wood is a air circulation expressed as air velocity (u) that improves the
highly anisotropic material where properties are directly evaporation rate by reducing the boundary layer’s thickness
affected by orientation of fibers and microfibrils within its and the external resistance of molecular flow. These three
solid matrix [2]. variables together can increase or decrease drying rate of
Wood diversity in structure and water content differ- wood like the throttle can increase or decrease the speed of
ences between sapwood and heartwood that are mostly a car. Researchers and practitioners interested in wood drying
prominent in softwoods could easily increase drying com- are always trying to find out the optimum combination of
plexity. Imagine wood boards with a 50 by 100 mm in those three that will allow maximum product quality for
cross section that are half sapwood and half heartwood and minimum drying time and energy [3].
with an average moisture content of 150% and 60%, Mass transfer can be considered at two scale levels: micro
respectively. That is a typical scenario with species such and macro. At the macro-level, the process is called bulk flow
as western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) on the North or capillary flow and it involves the flow of water and/or
American Pacific coast. Imagine also that there are two vapor under a pressure differential through the interconnected
such boards and one is a perfect flat-sawn, namely, annual void volume of wood, that is, lumens and pits. It is important
rings running parallel to top and bottom surfaces, whereas to emphasize here that although porosity is a measure of the
the other is quarter-sawn with annual ring orientation per- scale of void volume in wood, high porosity does not suggest
pendicular to top and bottom surfaces. Since boards in a high flow rates. The voids must be connected to each other
dry kiln release most of their water from the top and for this to happen; in other words, the pits should be “open”
bottom surfaces, that means that in the former case we to allow fluid flow from one lumen to the next. There are
have imbalanced transfer and evaporation due to half of many examples where wood species with very high porosity
it containing much more water than the other. In the latter value have a very low tolerance to fluid flow (refractory
case, since the two areas are side-by-side, the geometry of species) [3].
evaporation is quite different. Without further consider- Permeability is the measure of the ease with which fluids
ation of these two extreme situations, we can easily see are transported through a porous solid under the influence of
that by exposing these two boards to the same ambient a pressure gradient. A solid must be porous to be permeable,
temperature, humidity, and air flow conditions, the end but not all porous solids are permeable. Since permeability
result will be different moisture variation and stresses can only exist if the void spaces are interconnected by open-
within and between them thus contributing to one of the ings. Softwoods are permeable because pit pairs with open-
major problems of drying – moisture variability [1]. ings in the membranes connect the lumens of the tracheids in
Solving practical problems related to wood drying that softwoods. Above the fiber saturation point and at tempera-
usually involve multidimensional effects, two water phases tures above the boiling point, flow results from vapor pres-
that are time-space dependent with quite irregular interfaces sure generated within the wood. Under this condition,
move and a highly diverse material, require sophisticated capillary forces and wood permeability have dominant influ-
modeling and numerical procedures that represent quite a ence on moisture movement [4, 5].
demanding task. It is the objective of this chapter to provide Darcy’s law governs the flow of liquids and gases through
a brief description of the challenges persons responsible for wood in drying and steaming and the equations that describe
optimizing wood drying face [3] cf. ▶ Chaps. 6, ▶ 7, ▶ 8, this process under steady-state conditions are
▶ 9, and ▶ 23.
13 Basics of Wood Drying 681


VL m3 ðliquidÞ=m Pa s
tyloses that are very pronounced in white oak and greatly
kl ¼ ð13:1Þ
tAΔP reduce fluid flow. Aspiration and embolism are two phenom-
ena that also reduce permeability. The former is the result of
moving the torus/margo system of the bordered pits due to
 
 capillary forces during drying and permanently attaching
VL P m3 ðgasÞ=m
kg ¼ Pa s ð13:2Þ them by hydrogen bonds to the cell wall thus closing any
tAΔP P
capability of communication between two adjacent lumens.
where kl and kg are the superficial permeability coefficients to The latter is the result of air bubbles plugging the pits thus 13
liquids and gases, respectively; V is the volume of flow (m3); not allowing further fluid flow through them. Both signifi-
L is wood length (m); t is time (s); ΔP is the pressure drop cantly reduce the value of K and hence reduce the uptake of
across wood (Pa); and P is the average pressure between the liquid preservatives and pulping chemicals during wood
two ends of wood (Pa). The superficial permeability coeffi- processing [4, 5].
cient is a measure of how fast fluid will flow through various The aforementioned equations apply to only steady state
wood species, but as it can be seen in Eqs. (13.1) and (13.2), or static conditions. These are the cases where the pressure
it is highly affected by the compressibility of the fluid (gases differential causing this fluid flow remains the same over
vs. liquids). A better way of expressing permeability levels is time. In many real-life situations such as timber drying or
by excluding the effect of the fluid and converting this prop- steaming, pressure conditions within the piece of wood
erty to one that is only affected by the structure of wood, that and/or within the air drying or steam heating medium do
is, specific permeability (K ) calculated by change with time. That is because drying schedules (combi-
nations of air T and H as a function of time of M) are dynamic
K ¼ μl kl ¼ μg kg ð13:3Þ and, therefore, boundary conditions are dynamic too. As a
result, these equations tend to “break down” and cannot
measured in m3m1, where μ is the viscosity of the measur- accurately predict unsteady state or dynamic fluid flow. In
ing fluid (liquid or gas in Pa s). It is obvious from Eq. (13.3) such case, a new dynamic equation is required to predict fluid
that K is independent of the type of measuring fluid and once fluxes such as
the superficial permeability is measured by, for example, dry
air or any fluid, the specific permeability can be then calcu- @P2 @2P
lated as a product of the latter and the viscosity [4, 5]. ¼ Dp 2 ð13:4Þ
@t @x
Although Darcy’s law is manly used to measure the per-
meability coefficient of various species so that fluid flow where Dp is the average diffusivity for hydrodynamic flow
under different pressures can be predicted, it must be empha- (m2/s) and equal to kg P=va and vα is wood porosity. Eq. (13.4)
sized here that the law applies to laminar flow that is not is useful for very approximate calculations because the coef-
always the case in wood. Further to laminar or viscous flow, ficient is a strong function of pressure with only the porosity
in wood with such small pore sizes, we may have turbulent term being constant [4, 6].
flow, nonlinear flow due to kinetic energy losses at the The micro-level of mass transfer involves water molecules
entrance of short capillaries (i.e., pits) and slip flow or Knud- and it is commonly called molecular flow or diffusion. In
sen diffusion due to mean free path of gases being larger than wood drying below the fiber saturation point, diffusion is the
the size of a pore (i.e., margo membranes). Total levels of mechanism of mass transfer through the cell walls and the
volumetric fluid transfer can then be a combination of two or empty lumens. Actually, in the grand scheme of wood struc-
more of the above types of flow [4, 5]. ture complexity and uneven moisture distribution in wet
Permeability is also a physical property that is greatly pieces of wood, diffusion starts at very early stages of drying.
affected by the anisotropic nature of wood. Longitudinal Regardless, molecular flow is divided in two types based on
permeability coefficients are 15 to 50,000 larger than the the medium through the water molecules migrate under a
transverse ones due to the orientation of the wood fibers. concentration gradient, namely, inter-gas through all pore
Not much difference exists between radial and tangential sizes and bulk through cell walls [4, 6].
direction; however, the K values of the former are slightly The flow of molecules is by activation and random and
higher due to the extra flow path provided by the rays. spontaneous “jumps” from one sorption site to another under
Sapwood is normally more permeable than heartwood and the influence of a concentration (or moisture) gradient.
the species anatomy will also affect K. A very common Bound diffusion through the cell walls is quite pronounced
example cited is the differences between red oak and white during drying and sorption, but diffusion through the lumens
oak. Both have the same density and porosity, but red oak is (inter-gas) is also an important component of the total
more permeable by a factor of 10,000 due to the lack of diffusive flux.
682 S. Avramidis et al.

Fick’s law describes the process of steady-state temperature (K), a2 is the volume fraction of cell wall (1 – va)
diffusion as where va is wood porosity. DT is a composite of the bound
and the intergas diffusion coefficients and it only refers to
wL
D¼ ð13:5Þ water molecules inside the drying wood piece. When the
tAΔC
molecules evaporate, they have to also diffuse through the
where D is the gross wood water diffusion coefficient so-called boundary layer that provides an extra resistance
(m2s1), w is the weight of fluid transferred (kg), and ΔC is (commonly named “external”) additionally to the “internal”
the driving force for diffusion, namely, the concentration resistance to molecular flow [3, 4–6].
difference (kg m3) and the rest are the same as in It must be emphasized here that the process of diffusion is
Eq. (13.1). Since moisture diffusion is probably the most very slow when compared to bulk flow, and thus, it is the
important for wood processing, ΔC can be substituted in controlling mechanism in drying when total processing time
Eq. (13.5) by the moisture content differential, ΔM, which is concerned. Unfortunately, there are no reliable methods of
in turn will make more sense from the view point of calcula- improving the diffusion coefficient of wood at an industrial
tions. After this, Eq. (13.5) changes to scale so that the drying speed of timbers can be increased.
Attempts have been made with pre-steaming, hot water and
100 w L surfactant solution dipping, ultrasonic field exposure, and
D¼ ð13:6Þ
t A ρw GM ΔM freezing as possible methods with some success mostly in
improving permeability than diffusion.
where GM is specific gravity of wood and ρM is water density In drying, total thermal energy is paramount for water flow
(kg m3). The gross wood diffusion coefficient is a compos- and evaporation. This is the sum of thermal energy absorbed
ite of bound water and inter-gas vapor diffusion, and it is and transferred through wood and is directly affected by
highly affected by moisture content, temperature, species, material thermal properties, namely, specific heat, and ther-
and type of wood, and, last but not least, direction. Specifi- mal conductivity. The latter refers to thermal energy transfer
cally, D is directly proportional to moisture content and from the wood surface to its geometric center. Furthermore,
temperature since higher moisture levels will swell the cell the convective part of the process that involves the thermal
walls thus creating new paths of flow, and the higher temper- energy transfer from the hot air in drying or steam to the
ature will provide the extra thermal energy required for faster surface of wood is also paramount in the entire thermal
molecular movement. The wood species and type (heartwood balance. As a result, convective plus conductive transfers
vs. sapwood) have an effect on D through density and chem- are the two mechanisms controlling the total thermal energy
ical composition that affect accessibility to sorption sites. in wood drying. The former is affected by the hot fluid
Finally, longitudinal D values are higher that transverse characteristics such as temperature, viscosity, and velocity
ones at low moisture content values in the hygroscopic whereas the latter is affected by wood structure and density.
range, but the difference decreases by increasing moisture Transfer of thermal energy through wood by conduction
content toward the fiber saturation point [4, 6]. takes place by molecular interaction in the cell walls.
As in the case of bulk flow, diffusion is also a dynamic Fourier’s law describes steady-state flow of heat as follows:
process in wood drying for the simple reason that moisture
content decreases with time and in within the drying timber. Qh L
As a consequence, the need of an unsteady state diffusion Kq ¼ ðW=mKÞ ð13:9Þ
tAΔT
equation is paramount.
where Qh is the quantity of heat transferred (J), and ΔT is the
temperature differential driving heat transfer (K). For wood,
@M2 @2M
¼D 2 ð13:7Þ Kq can be calculated by an empirical equation
@t @x
Again, Eq. (13.7) is only suitable for approximate calcu- K q ¼ Gð0:2 þ 0:0038MÞ þ 0:024 ð13:10Þ
lation because of the assumption of a constant coefficient. A
good approximation of the calculation of transverse DT of a where G is the specific gravity of wood at a particular mois-
drying piece of timber at moisture content within the hygro- ture content (M ). This equation is valid for moisture contents
scopic range is given by below 40%. For above 40%, the same equation can be used
with the only exemption of the coefficient of M that in this
7E  5 exp ðEb=RT Þ case is 0.0052 [4].
DT ¼ ð13:8Þ Eqs. (13.9 and 13.10) refer to a steady-state situation
ð 1  a 2 Þ ð 1  aÞ
where temperatures of wood surface and core remain the
where Eb is the water molecule activation energy (¼38,500- same with time, something that is not the case in real drying
290 M) (J/mol), R is the gas constant (8.31 J/mol K), T is situations. The same equation format applies to convective
13 Basics of Wood Drying 683

heat transfer with the only difference of Kq being replaced by 13.3.1 Drying Air Variables
hh that refers to the convective heat transfer coefficient. The
external resistance to heat transfer is also affected by the same Removal of water from wood in a controlled way is another
parameters as the diffusion one and faster transfer can happen approach of describing the separation of the liquid (water)
when air is replaced by steam and the air flow velocities are from the solid (wood) phase with the help of a gaseous
increased especially when the wood moisture content is phase (air). It is a complex process that takes time and
above the fiber saturation point (presence of liquid water energy and because wood is a highly hydrophilic and aniso-
in wood). tropic material that shrinks when it loses water, the predic- 13
As in the case of diffusion, in wood drying, temperatures tion of the final product quality is quite challenging
change with time and therefore Eq. (13.9) cannot accurately (Fig. 13.2). The whole wood drying process can be explored
describe the process. In that case, the unsteady-state or
dynamic format of Fourier’s law has to be used that takes
the form of
Heat transfer via
@T @2T convection from
¼ Dq 2 ð13:11Þ
@t @x air to wood surface
Kq
Dq ¼ ð13:12Þ Air flow
ρcpw

where Dq is the thermal diffusivity (m2/s), @T/@t is the Moisture

temperature change with time (K/s), @T/@x is the temper- evaporation
ature change with distance from surface (K/m), ρ is the
wood density (kg/m3), and cpw is the wood heat capacity
(J/kg K). Eq. (13.11) indicates that the rate of temperature
change at any point within the specimen is directly pro-
portional to the gradient space derivative. In general, heat Heat transfer via Moisture transfer
flow through wood is a strong function of density, moisture conduction from by bulk flow
content, and direction. Heat flow is proportional to mois- wood surface to and/or diffusion
ture content and inversely proportional to density. Further- wood center
more, it is about two to two and a half times faster in the
longitudinal that the transverse direction of wood is
slightly higher in the radial compared to the tangential Fig. 13.1 Typical heat and mass transfer processes above a wood board
inside a dry kiln
direction [3].
Generally speaking, transfer phenomena (bulk, diffusion
and heat flow) (Fig. 13.1) in wood during drying can be
quite complex and coupled. They are very dynamic in time
and space and the calculation of the temperature and mois-
ture profiles can be quite challenging especially if the vol-
ume changes of the drying material are taken into
consideration [1, 3, 7]. Air circulation Thermal energy
Control the Control the air
air velocity temperature
Drying

13.3 Wood Drying Kinetics

In this part of the chapter, the reader will be briefly introduced

to the complex heat and moisture transfer phenomena that Water in air
take place inside a drying wood board in a kiln. A short Control the
description of moisture changes within and between boards air relative
will be covered with further explanation at the application humidity
level in ▶ Chap. 19.

Fig. 13.2 The three variables of timber drying

684 S. Avramidis et al.

from two different viewpoints, namely, dryer and wood. In air flow direction every fixed number of hours is beneficial to
other words, the process needs to be analyzed from the the reduction of final moisture content variability between the
gaseous phase and the solid/liquid phase. The process is pieces of wood inside a dryer [1, 3].
regulated by three air variables: temperature, relative Dry kilns are units that are designed to accurately and
humidity, and velocity [3]. continuously control T, H, and u during a drying cycle. By
Air temperature is an indication and measure of the devising a plan or schedule that accurately sets the “T-H-u”
thermal energy in the air. The higher the thermal energy, combination as function of time or average moisture content
the larger the flux of it to the surface and center of the (rarely since there is no technology to monitor that) the
drying piece of wood. A greater flux will result in faster drying speed of wood can be controlled like the speed of a
thermal excitation of the water molecules in the lumens car when we press on the throttle. Since drying is partly
(free water) and cell walls (bound water). Enough energy science and partly art, the art at this point is to create a
to increase their kinetic energy and thus facilitate the proper schedule that will minimize total drying time and
evaporation of the former and breaking of hydrogen bond- maximize final quality of wood. That is mostly achieved
ing and diffusion of the latter. The net result is the loss of through individual experience, trial-and-error and with
moisture as a function of time and space and thus the some engineering “intuition.” An optimized drying sched-
initiation and continuance of the drying process. Greater ule will benefit the “bottom-line” of a wood processing
levels of temperature will accelerate drying measured by facility [3].
the change or moisture content with time and normally
called, drying rate (dM/dt). Caution should be exercised
with the levels of temperature used in dry kilns for 13.3.2 Moisture Profiles Within Drying Wood
research and experience have revealed that wood species
are very sensitive to those levels and many defects can In an ideal world, a piece of freshly cut wood will contain
develop because of that [3]. the same amount of moisture in every 3-D spatial point and
Air relative humidity is a measure of the amount of water the water will have the same capacity of escaping along all
in the air under a particular temperature level. It is normally three axes. Unfortunately, neither the former nor the latter is
expressed as percent relative humidity (H ) that is current the case in wood drying because of the water content var-
amount related to maximum amount the air can hold at a iability inside a tree and the anisotropic structure of wood. If
particular temperature and ranges between 0 and 100% or we examine a piece of log that is converted to boards, as
absolute humidity that refers to the amount of water per unit seen in Fig. 13.3, many possibilities of cross-sectional
volume of moist air (AH, kg/m3). The former is more com-
mon to designing ways or schedules for drying particular
species and sizes of wood products. Circulating air inside a
kiln that is very humid will result in a slow drying process.
A
Therefore, by controlling the air humidity, the vapor pressure
B
differential (Δp) between the inside of wood and the sur- C
rounding air is controlled and thus, the drying rate is regu- D
lated [3, 4]. E
Stagnant air of low H and high T has good drying capacity,
but moving air has a much better one. Therefore, controlling
the air circulation or velocity (u) will result in increased dM/ F
dt levels and shorter drying times. High air velocities are
mostly beneficial when liquid (free) water in the lumens is
present, namely, when the moisture content of wood is above
the fiber saturation point (Mfsp). Research has shown that
below Mfsp high u does not increase much the dM/dt and
thus, it can be reduced for realizing some electricity cost
savings. Air circulation also affects the external resistance
to drying, namely, the flow of water molecules through a
boundary layer attached to the surface of wood. The resis-
tance is proportional to the thickness of the layer and greater
air velocities tend to reduce its size and, thus, increase exter-
nal heat and mass transfer [3].
Fig. 13.3 Cross section of a simple Douglas-fir log hypothetical break-
Air direction is also important for drying balance and in down to produce 40  140 mm boards
dryers where there is large special difference, and reversal of
13 Basics of Wood Drying 685

Zone α
Zone β Zone α
Zone β

13
Fig. 13.4 The formation of wet-front and the two moisture zones across the thickness of a drying board

configurations could be realized, for example, flatsawn

(A) and quartersawn (F) and pieces that are all-sapwood t4 > t3 > t2 > t1
(A) to all-heartwood (E) and everything in-between (B to Mi t0
D). If we take the case of (A) to (E) in the Douglas-fir shown
where the sapwood (light color ring) M could be around t1
120% whereas the heartwood (dark color ring) M at around t2
50%, then the problem of spatial variable moisture in the cut
boards is clear. The five boards will enter the dryer and stay t3
there for the same amount of time and under the same T-H-u
Mfsp
conditions. Two interesting things will happen when the t4
drying cycle is over: (a) there will be a difference Mwb
within the boards, and (b) a difference in Mbb between the Memc
boards [1, 3, 8].
Both M variations are very important to dried wood qual-
ity for different reasons that will be explained shortly. Mwb is S (−1) C (0) S (+1)
a direct result of the way wood dries, namely, firstly from the Thickness of board from surface to core to surface
surface as is shown in Fig. 13.4. Assuming there is a cross
section of a 40  90mm softwood board and of infinite Fig. 13.5 Cross-sectional moisture profile formation and evolution
length that ideally has the same M throughout that is far within a drying board
above Mfsp (zone β). When the board is inside a dryer, it
loses moisture mostly from the top and the bottom surfaces.
As free (in pores) water begins to evaporate from the surface, loss rate controlling factor. In the second phase of “β þ α”
it reduces immediately to a much lower M and, in reality, in both permeability and diffusion control the drying process,
extremely short time the surface M comes into equilibrium and as the “β/α” ratio becomes smaller, diffusion becomes
with the ambient conditions. For example, if we assume that more prominent and thus the drying rate reduces. In the last
T/H of air is 70/45 that corresponds to an Memc of 6%, then phase, it is all-diffusion and thus the drying becomes much
the surface moisture content (Ms) will reach 6%, then the slower [3, 8].
layer below will reach 6%, and so on. A new dry zone α will As shown in Fig. 13.5, the wet-front is apparent from the
start appearing that keeps growing with time thus revealing a moisture curve or internal M distribution that starts from a
wet moving front from the surface toward the geometric hypothetical homogeneous distribution from S-to-S the curve
center of the board. While after time all free water will formation and evolves to a differential between core and shell
evaporate and throughout thickness M < Mfsp, where only moisture content or profile. The realization of this profile is
zone α is present, the actual Ms < Mc thus creating the the result of process complexity that results from heat and
so-called and ever-present at various levels core-to-shell mass transfer phenomena coupling, interconnection and
moisture content difference (ΔMc-s). Ultimately, the three interaction with the structure and anisotropicity of wood not
phases of “β,” “β þ α,” and “α” will be appearing and to mention the fact that wood will shrink and internal stresses
disappearing for long and/or short periods of time during will develop as we will discuss later during the three phases.
the drying process [8]. The magnitude of ΔMc-s is a direct result of the speed of
During the first phase of only “β,” water flows through the drying, namely, severe T-H-u combinations (T", H#, u") will
interconnected void volume of wood under a static pressure result in steeper profiles and vice versa for the same wood
differential, and thus, wood permeability becomes the water species and board thickness in the dryer [3, 8].
686 S. Avramidis et al.

13.3.3 Drying Curve and Rate the third phase of 2FRP, where all points within the board are
below Mfsp (t4 in Fig. 13.5) diffusion becomes the controlling
In any industrial drying process as well as any drying variable and there is a further slowdown of moisture loss rate
research endeavor aiming to optimize the process and [3, 8–10].
improve product quality, knowing the average moisture con- The dM/dt change with respect to time in drying is shown
tent (M) of wood as well the drying rate (dM/dt) as functions in Fig. 13.7. The reader should keep in mind that the above
of time is paramount. Figure 13.6 shows a typical drying curves refer to ideal conditions of homogeneous Mi distribu-
curve as a function of time doe wood drying from an initial tion and drying that for most cases and in industrial applica-
M of 80% to a target M of 15%. Initially, the drop in M is tions that is not the case.
quite fast, but furthermore in the drying process, there is a A third-degree polynomial can well represent the drying
notable slow down. As seen in the Fig. 13.7, there is a distinct curve and it will have the form of
partition of the curve into three periods (phases), namely,
constant rate period (CRP), first falling rate period (1FRP), 3 2
M ¼ αt þ βt þ γt þ δ ð13:13Þ
and second falling rate period (2FRP). As it happens, these
three periods coincide with the three aforementioned α and β The first derivative of it will allow the calculation of the
phases. CRP is when the board is well above Mfsp and the drying rate as a function of time
drying rate is almost constant and controlled by the perme-
2
ability coefficient of the wood. In 1FRP the effect of the dM=dt ¼ 3αt þ 2βt þ γ ð13:14Þ
diffusion coefficient becoming a second controlling variable
is evident by the slowdown of dM/dt. As explained before, in The latter equation immediately reveals the complexity
of the process and the many assumptions and the uncer-
tainty of the wood behavior plus the moisture distribution
within wood during drying because no CRP phase is pre-
Mi = 80% dicted (no linear component of the curve). Calculation of
Constant rate period (CRP) dM/dt values per few hours directly from the raw drying
curve data and then, plotting them as a function of time will
1st falling rate period (1FRP)
allow with the use of two-step curve fitting to create the
M (%) 2nd falling rate CRP and the FRPs [3, 8–11].
period (2FRP)

Target
M = 15%
13.4 Drying Stresses
0 t (hours) Water removal from wood cell walls below the fiber satura-
tion point comes with what is commonly referred to as
Fig. 13.6 Drying board curve showing the three drying rate periods shrinkage. That is because open space is created within the
wall matrix that results in cellulose chains coming closer. The
shrinkage is not of the same level within a piece of timber
thus resulting in internal stresses. This chapter deals with the
fundamentals of stress development.
Drying rate or dM/dt (%/hr)

13.4.1 Free Shrinkage

Constant
rate period Wood hygro-contraction (such as, shrinkage) is a dimen-
1st falling sional reduction that occurs as cell wall-bound water mole-
rate period cules escape from the amorphous areas of its cellulose chains
allowing them to move closer. The primary shrinkage of the
2nd falling wood cell walls in combination with the resistance offered by
rate period wood matrix structure determines the overall change in its
0 Target M = 15% dimensions [12]. Although shrinkage cannot be described as
t (hours)
a totally stress-free process, the drying stresses could be
minimized by using specimens with small dimensions that
Fig. 13.7 Drying rate of a board showing the three rate periods can be dried in such a manner that the contained moisture
13 Basics of Wood Drying 687

remained throughout the process be as uniformly distributed

as possible. Shrinkage values obtained in these conditions
were named “free shrinkage” [13, 14].

Tensile strain
The structural positioning of cellulose chains inside the Shell
largest layer of the cell wall (S2) causes most of the shrinkage
to happen along a direction perpendicular to the tree stem and Core
just a small amount along its length (~0.3%). The fibrils
making up the primary part of the cell wall tend to be oriented 13
spirally, almost at right angles to the fiber length, fitting 0
tightly around a water-swollen fiber. Any gain or loss in

Compressive strain
moisture content will be restrained by these fibril wrappings.
During a desorption process, at high moisture contents the Core Shell
restraining action is very efficient but further drying deter-
mines the non-crystalline region of these fibrils to begin to
shrink. The restraining is proportional with the microfibril
angle [15]. It is a fortunate feature because it limits the
amount of swelling and shrinkage but in the same time
creates stresses at cell wall level [12]. Another interesting 0 1
Drying time
aspect of the shrinkage phenomenon is that minor shrinkage
values are recorded before the wood reaches the fiber satura-
tion point (Mfsp). Recent research in this domain explains this Fig. 13.8 Strain development in shell and core during a drying
early shrinkage either by a large range of free-bound water schedule
coexistence [16] or the slight change of cell shape during the
water removal process [17, 18]. The controversy of free-
bound water coexistence was approached by splitting the develops more slowly and, as drying proceeds and the ten-
term Mfsp into two parts: hygroscopicity limit and the cell sion stresses advance inward, a decreasing amount of mate-
wall saturation limit [19]. The former was defined as the rial is subjected to them. Once the core has reached the Mfsp,
equilibrium moisture content (Memc) of a relative humidity and it starts to shrink, a reversed restraining phenomenon
slightly lower than 100% (to avoid full saturation) while the happens – the shell is now restraining the core. During this
latter was determined to be proportional with the ratio of phase tensile stresses develop at the interior and compression
shrinkage and specific gravity of wood. stresses on the exterior. Similarly, the compression stress
determines the apparition of compression set which repre-
sents a higher than normal shrinkage value (Fig. 13.8).
13.4.2 Restrained Shrinkage The phenomenon is more complicated because the set
appears simultaneously in different parts of a single piece of
As previously stated, drying stresses are minimized when wood driven by moisture gradient changes [12].
small wood specimens are dried. Thick and long specimens
are affected by the moisture gradient set up between shell and
core. In this case, the surface fibers will start to shrink and the 13.4.3 Drying Stress Components
overall volume of the piece will be reduced even though the
average moisture content is above Mfsp. The shrinkage of the In a comprehensive stress model, total strain (ε) rate is
surface layers is restrained by the wet (more plastic) inner assumed to be composed of thermal expansion/contraction
layers which show no tendency to shrink; these conditions strain (εT), free shrinkage and swelling (εα), elastic strain (εe),
determine a less-than-free shrinkage value called tensile set. and viscoelastic strain (εve) with its two components “creep”
Cracks are generally occurring during this early drying (εc) and “mechano-sorptive” (εms). Strain components are
stage [20]. generally assumed to be conceptually separable and the
As internal forces are balancing, a compensating compres- total strain can be written as:
sion stress appears on the inner layers. As drying proceeds,
the tension stresses advance inward, while a decreasing

T α e c ms
amount of material is subjected to increasing compression @ε=@t ¼ @ ε þ ε þ ε þ ε þ ε =@t ð13:15Þ
stresses in the core. The tensile stresses developed in the
adjacent layers are smaller than the one developed in the Wood expands if the temperature increases and shrinks if
outer slices [21]. The compression stress from the interior the temperature decreases. During the drying process,
688 S. Avramidis et al.

shrinkage caused by moisture loss is greater than thermal

expansion, so the net dimensional change on heating will

Compression
be negative [22]. Also, if the temperature is held constant or
the variation interval is very small, thermal expansion/con-
traction may be neglected (εT ¼ 0).
Under short-term loading, stresses below a certain

Stress
limit (called the proportional limit) produce strains that
substantially disappear when the load is released

Tension
(directly recoverable). This strain is called the elastic
strain. The region of elastic behavior is determined
experimentally through direct evaluation of stress-strain
diagrams and can be modeled using spring elements Days drying 5 10 18 28 36 50
(Hooke method). Mean M (%) 77 64 50 35 17 10
Any stress extended over a period of time will develop an
Kiln Memc (%) 18 17 13 8 2 2
additional strain named creep. Wood, with its complicated
structure at macroscopic, microscopic and molecular level,
develops two types of creep strains during drying, namely, Fig. 13.9 Distribution of residual stresses at various stages of drying
time-dependent creep and mechano-sorptive creep. The time- throughout the 2-inch thickness of a red oak drying board, based on
McMillen 1958 [21]
dependent creep appears in materials subjected to a constant
load and it is typically characterized by a family of stress-
strain diagrams. For wood, these stress-strain diagrams can usually applied in green specimens at the beginning of
be developed under constant temperature and moisture con- the test.
tent. The mechano-sorptive creep, also interpreted as an Drying stresses measured either by slicing and curvature
accelerated creep due to moisture content changes, is the measurements were initiated by Peck (1940) [36] and latter
result of transient redistribution of stresses and it is associated perfected by Kuebler (1960) [37]. The released deformation
with moisture content changes that cause the rupture of was measured with transducers positioned against the end of
hydrogen bonds. These bonds will reform in a different the tested specimens [28]. The stress is calculated as the
location under the bias of the applied stress. The quantifica- product of the strain and Young’s modulus at a particular
tion of this mechanism can be done using mathematical temperature and moisture content level. A stress diagram
models of rheology (from the Greek “ρεoλoγία”) – the obtained by these methods will look, more or less, like the
study of the time-dependent stress-strain behavior of one illustrated in Fig. 13.9. After 5 days of drying the outer
materials. layers of the wood are under severe tensile stress. The long
Under sufficiently low moisture content and temperature, duration of drying process will develop a tensile set and wood
wood behaves much like a brittle material (linear elastic will shrink less-than-free shrinkage value. Often these
manner). Under intermediate moisture content and tempera- stresses create small surface checks, which may cause prob-
ture wood exhibits viscoelastic behavior. At higher stress lems if the surface is to be coated with paint or clear finishes.
levels, or in fluctuating environmental conditions wood will
have a nonlinear viscoelastic behavior with considerable
plastic deformation [23]. 13.5 Drying Processes
Recent research in developing constitutive models of
drying stresses was done by Rice and [24–35]. Most of Drying of wood boards can be done with two different ways,
the authors built Burger, Kelvin, N Kelvin, or Maxwell namely, in the presence of a hot fluid (convective drying) that
models based on series or parallel combinations of spring will transfer heat to the wood and take away the evaporating
and dashpot elements. An original approach was done by water molecules, and under partial atmospheric pressure
Moutee et al. (2007) [33] who built a rheological model of (vacuum drying).
wood cantilever for modeling the creep behavior and stress Convective drying can also be subdivided into low/high
in various moisture content conditions and various load temperature conventional and dehumidification drying with
levels. Others carried their research by starting from some variations, whereas vacuum drying can be subdivided
models made on small specimens, which were later used into conductive, superheated steam, and dielectric [3, 38, 39].
to characterize the drying stresses in full boards. This Last, there is the category of solar drying that is a hybrid
approach implied the study of the drying process under between natural air drying and conventional kiln drying with
an imposed stress, either tensile or compression, which is minor control over the drying variables. In the following
sections, specific features of the different drying processes
13 Basics of Wood Drying 689

are addressed and a more detailed practical application of

industrial wood drying systems is given in ▶ Chap. 23 “Lum- 80
ber Drying and Steaming.” °C φ = 0.5

φ = 1.0
13.5.1 Conventional Kiln Drying

h=
40

20
0K
13

h=
The drying is done in a specially designed chamber called

J/k
10
A

0K

g
kiln or dry kiln or dryer. Although there are differences in

J/k
detail between kiln manufacturers, essentially, it is a box 0

g
made with thermally insulated aluminum panels attached to 0 40 x 80
a steel frame and fitted with overhead hardware specially g/kg dry air
designed to control air temperature, relative humidity, and
circulation (speed and direction). Until recently, the majority
of the kilns were of the batch type, namely, doors will located Fig. 13.10 Mollier-h,x-diagram for moist air at atmospheric pressure
(simplified). Example: A conventional kiln drying process and
either in one end or both, kiln will be filled with the stickered air-exchange from outside is indicated by the thick black line, starting
board packages, and the drying run will commence by fol- with the state of the air from outside (A), heating up the air and the
lowing a time-based drying schedule. When the run is over, indoor climate (X) – compare box above
the wood is taken out and a new back for green wood enters
the kiln for processing [3, 8].
The main principle of conventional kiln drying in order 239–26 ¼ 213 kJ has to be provided via the heat-coils to hold the
to exhaust moisture of the circulating air is based on the chamber temperature (without considering other heat losses).
Mollier h-x diagram (Enthalpy-Humidity Mixing Ratio) This heat amount includes the heat for heating up the air
diagram, developed by Mollier (1923) [40]. The following (38 kJ) and the heat for evaporation of the wood moisture.
practical example (see box below) helps to understand the Progressive (or continuous) kilns are much longer chambers
principle of the dehumidification of the kiln-drying cham- where the air conditions are also precisely controlled but are not
ber. The Mollier diagram is a graphic representation of the the same from one end to the other. The kiln is divided into
relationship between air temperature, air moisture content, zones where conditions are different. The wood sits on carts that
relative humidity, and specific enthalpy and therefore in turn sit on rails that enter the kiln from one end and slowly
describes the properties and the state of the moist air, move toward the other (exit) like a train in a tunnel. As the
which is used as a circulating medium for transport both wood moves, it goes through the various zones where condi-
heat and vapor during the drying of timber. The diagram tions in the beginning are low T and high H and as the wood
helps us to understand how air changes state when we cool moves through the system and consecutive zones, conditions
and heat it. become harsher, namely, higher T and lower H. Wood moves at
A specific kiln drying schedule as shown in ▶ Chap. 23 a calibrated speed so when it exits, theoretically speaking, the
“Sawn-timber Steaming and Drying” is the controlling basis Mf is at target. The problem with this method is that it is good
of the variables such as kiln air temperature, relative humidity for species of Mi that does not differ much plus, and it will not
(RH), and velocity as shown in Fig. 13.10. allow for implementing stress relief by conditioning and Mf
In Fig. 13.10, an example for a theoretical path of air in- and standard deviation reduction by equalizing, something that
outside a drying kiln is given. As parameters are chosen: outdoor batch kilns will allow the mill to carry out. Batch kilns will
air 10  C/80% RH, actual chamber climate 60  C/50% RH. The also provide much more flexibility to production logistics for
support air, entering the kiln dryer via the roof vents, exhibits a allowing to dry various species and thicknesses [1].
moisture content x of approx. 6 g/kg. After heating up the air A third drying system that falls under this category is the
(without mixing with the circulating air) the RH would decrease so-called dehumidification drying. Although it is very similar
to 8% (ϕ ¼ 0.08); after mixing with the circulating air, the to a batch kiln, upon closer look there are couple parts that are
exhaust air is released from the chamber with 60  C/50% RH missing, namely, heat exchangers and roof vents. This is
(x ¼ 68 g/kg). For each kg air transported via the valves (corre- because the H in the circulating air inside the unit is con-
sponds to approx. 1.2 m3 of air) a Δx of 68–6 ¼ 62 g water as trolled by a dehumidification (air conditioning) unit that is
vapour per 1 kg dry air is released from the chamber (exhaust air). based on the.
The incoming support air has an enthalpy h of 26 kJ/kg, the Carnot cycle, and it removed the extra moisture picked
exhaust air 239 kJ/kg; for an air exchange, a heat amount of Δh from wood by the circulating air in this closed system that is
690 S. Avramidis et al.

a
100

Boiling temperature (°C)

90
80
Rough vacuum
70
60 Common pressure range of
50
vacuum timber drying
40
7
1
30 Fine vacuum
20
10
b Air flow Condenser
4 3 40 200 400 600 800 1000
Pressure (mbar)
Refrigerant
Control flow
W
valve Fig. 13.12 Boiling point of water depending on the atmospheric air
Compressor pressure Double arrow . . . operating slot of typical industrial vacuum
dryer
1 2

Evaporator
superheated steam, and dielectric. Their difference is in the
way the thermal energy is transferred to wood [38, 39].
Fig. 13.11 Schematic of a dehumidification kiln (a), and the dehumid-
ification unit (b). Cold and humid air (dash) over cold evaporator will
Conductive Vacuum Drying
lose moisture and reduce H, then, over hot condenser will pick up
thermal energy [22] In conductive vacuum drying (CVD) the wood is in conduct
with heating elements (hot plate) that are normally made out
of aluminum and stacks of wood are laid between the hot
plates that are normally heated by a hot fluid flowing through
then heated and re-sent into the dryer as seen in Fig. 13.11.
them (Fig. 13.13). This system provides uniform heating of
Because of this, no vents are needed to control excess air
the lumber and good control of the temperatures used. How-
humidity and no heat exchanger to control air T. Therefore,
ever, kiln loading and unloading are time-consuming, if done
the main difference between a conventional batch kiln and
manually, and plates require periodic maintenance or replace-
dehumidification one is the fact that in the former the vapor
ment, adding to the cost. Some kiln-manufacturing compa-
differential between wood and air that drives wood moisture
nies offer automatic systems for stacking the boards and hot
out is created mostly by reducing partial vapor pressure in the
plates. In convective drying, moisture moves along the thick-
air through dehumidification whereas in the latter by raising
ness of the boards and evaporates from the top and bottom
the temperature of water in the wood. Dehumidification
surfaces. However, in conductive vacuum drying, free water
dryers are all electrical, and they take longer to dry wood
in lumens above Mfsp and bound water in cell walls below
due to their lower drying Ts and have no conditioning capac-
Mfsp move along the length of the boards through the
ity due to the lack of steam producing unit. However, they are
interconnected capillary structure of wood. Longitudinal per-
simple to operate, have no need for a boiler, and the capital
meability becomes paramount factor concerning drying
costs plus energy costs are lower [3, 8]. ▶ Chap. 23 will
speed and quality. Refractory species do not perform well
provide the reader with much more information about these
and this process is more fit for drying high or medium
three systems of convective drying.
permeability species [38, 41–43].
Generally speaking in vacuum drying of wood, the boiling
point of water is reduced by drawing a vacuum via a high
13.5.2 Vacuum Drying
power vacuum pump, allowing for drying at lower tempera-
tures than conventional drying. As in dehumidification dry-
As the name implies, the drying in this case is carried out at
ing, vacuum reduces the water vapor pressures to extremely
reduced atmospheric pressure conditions. The basic principle
low levels thus creating a very high pressure gradient from
of a vacuum dryer is the fact that the boiling point of water is
the center toward the surface of wood. Thus, the benefits of
below 100  C when the air pressure in the autoclave is below
high-temperature drying are achieved, that is, less warp and
the atmospheric air pressure of about 1000 mbar (Fig. 13.12).
much reduced drying time, but at lower temperatures. Similar
There are three major vacuum drying methods: conductive,
to the “wet-front” described in 13.3.2, here there is a
13 Basics of Wood Drying 691

y
Electric
Timber
Ti
Tim
im ber
heating
plates
Vacuum
E H
chamber
E0
x
13
Wood boards Conductive vacuum dryer H0
Moisture and temperature Heat transfer z
Autoclave measurement
Heating
plate Fig. 13.14 Diagrammatic illustration of a plane electromagnetic wave.
Timber E and H represent the electrical and magnetic components of the wave;
Eo and Ho are their respective amplitudes

As it passes through wood its frequency ( f ) remains the

same; therefore, its wave length (λ) changes ( f ¼ u/λ), and
this affects the depth of penetration that becomes very
Heat medium important when the frequency of the wave needs to be
distributor Flexible heating pipe considered and a choice between radio waves and micro-
waves must be made. Radio waves are not forms of heat, but
Fig. 13.13 Commercial conductive vacuum dryer for sawn timber forms of energy that are manifested as heat through their
interaction with wood. This interaction is quite complex, but
“boiling-front” that instead of moving along the thickness it boils down to the ionic conduction and dipolar rotation of
from the surface toward the geometric center of the boards the water molecules in wood. The former corresponds to
moves along its length [37, 44–46]. ions in the free water located in the lumens that accelerate
Advantages of this process include high quality final by the electric field of the wave (the magnetic field is
product due to lower drying temperatures, use of electricity, irrelevant to wood heating). In this interaction (two-step
and no discoloration issues due to the reduce O2 concentra- process) electric energy is converted to kinetic energy and
tion. Long drying and loading times are the major drawbacks through collisions, in turn is converted to heat. This type of
of this drying method. Furthermore, kiln capacity is an issue heating is not dependent to any great extent upon either
because CVD units are quite small relative to the convective temperature or frequency [38].
kilns. Overall, CVD is a drying process fit for smaller vol- Dipolar rotation refers to the water molecules that are
umes of high quality wood such as hardwoods or thick dipoles by nature possessing an asymmetric charge center.
softwoods and for production unit of small to medium level Water molecules are influenced by the rapidly changing
volumes [38]. polarity of the electric field. Although they are normally
randomly oriented, the electric field attempts to pull them
Dielectric Vacuum Drying into alignment. However, as the field decays to zero (relaxes),
Dielectric vacuum drying (DVD) is taking place in a cham- the molecules return to their random orientation only to be
ber under vacuum where the wood heating is done with pulled toward alignment again as the electric field builds up
electromagnetic waves at various frequencies, that is, at to its opposite polarity. This buildup and decay of the field,
about 1–40 MHz where in this case it is called radio fre- occurring at a frequency of many millions of times per
quency heating and the process radio frequency vacuum second, causes the water molecules similarly to align and
drying (RFVD), and 0.9 to 2GHz where it is called micro- relax millions of times per second. This causes an energy
wave heating. The latter is not commonly used in wood conversion from electrical field energy to stored potential
drying, rather in accelerating adhesive polymerization in energy in wood and then to stored random kinetic or thermal
composite wood products manufacturing such as energy in the material. The result is rapid increase in temper-
Parallam ®. ature in a non-contact mode and under vacuum. The power
When electromagnetic waves penetrate a piece of wood, (also called power density) within a unit volume of wood in
the wave changes its energy content and amplitude an RF field is calculated by
(Fig. 13.14).
The wave travels in the X-direction at the speed of light
in air or vacuum, but slows as it propagates through wood.
692 S. Avramidis et al.

00 2 related to standing waves and the resulting cold spots within

PD ¼ 2π f εo ε E ð13:16Þ
the material that will not dry at the same rate as the rest of the
board, thus creating high moisture content pockets and within
where PD is power density (kW/m3), f is the frequency
board high M variation. The third reason is related to the
(MHz), E is the electric field strength (V/m), εo is the permit-
relationship between ε00 and M. The variation of the former as
tivity of free space, and ε00 is the loss factor, a measure of how
a function of the latter is greater in radio frequencies and that
much of the electric energy is converted to heat and a strong
leads to a better moisture profiling performance since the
function of moisture content (ε00 decreases with M ), temper-
preferential heating of the wetter areas is more pronounced
ature, and wood species.
[12, 49–51].
The two features that make RFVD so attractive are the
Once the wood is placed within an RF field, it will heat up
volumetric nature of dielectric heating and the selectivity of
fast. Then, if the system is located in a chamber where the
the heating of water in the presence of many polymers that
ambient pressure can be reduced significantly, the water
comprise the substrate. The former allows for a greatly
boiling point reduces like in CVD and the water evaporates
increased rate of heat transfer to take place compared with
mostly from the board end-surfaces via a bulk flow first and
conventional methods of conduction and convection which
diffusion later mechanism. Because most of the water loss
can only heat the wood surface. It also means that water can
happens along the length of the board, and because there is
evaporate in situ. The selective nature of dielectric heating
very little air in the dryer, there is no need for stickering of the
arises because wood is a good electrical insulator with a low
wood like in convective drying. Therefore, handling of wood
loss factor whereas water has a high loss factor in both
(no stickering and un-stickering steps) is much faster and
frequency ranges (RF and microwave). Furthermore, the
cheaper. Wood can be handled in solid packages that are
fact that ε00 increases with increasing moisture content results
pre-strapped with plastic strapping so that it can be immedi-
in the wetter parts of wood to be heated more than the drier
ately loaded and shipped to the customer after drying [12,
ones, leading to an even-out of the moisture distribution thus
50, 52].
reducing the steepness of the internal moisture profiles
RFV dryers are not difficult to design and manufacture. It
discussed in Sect. 13.3.2, a very important feature for wood
requires an RF generator made either based on an oscillator
re-manufacturing [38, 47, 48].
circuit technology (old) with either single output circuit or
RF is the preferred method combined with vacuum to dry
coupled circuits, or 50 Ω technology (modern). Either way,
wood because of three reasons when the other option is the
the wood is normally placed with a capacitor (horizontal
use of microwaves. Firstly, it is the depth of penetration (D)
plates), and in newer designs the floor of the dryer doubles
that was mentioned above and has to do with how deep the
also as the bottom electrode (ground in 50 Ω technology
waves penetrate wood, a relatively dense material. The depth
units). The wood-plates part is placed in a chamber where
is calculated by
most of the air can be removed via a vacuum pump and thus
pffiffiffiffi reduce the atmospheric pressure (Pa) by over 90% in many
ε0
D ¼ λo ð13:17Þ times (Fig. 13.15). The speed of drying is controlled by PD
2πε00
and the level of Pa in a similar way T and H control convec-
tive drying. Attention should be paid to the level of PD and
where λo is the free space wavelength (m) and ε′ is the
Pa because too high PD and too low Pa at low moisture
dielectric constant of wood (ε00 ¼ ε′ tan δ). Eq. 13.16 can
contents can result in arching and tripping of the safety
predict the maximum penetration depth for a wave. So,
circuit. So, like with conventional drying, RFV schedules
various frequencies will result in depths of penetration
must be developed by trial-and-error and optimized by drying
Douglas-fir wood that significantly decreases as frequency
models [47, 55–55].
increases (Table 13.1).
The water that evaporates from the wood load in the dryer
The very low D values at microwave frequencies are the
normally condenses in a water capturing system located
first reason why batch RFVD is not in existence and low RF
between the chamber and the vacuum pumps and from
frequencies are much more preferable. The second reason is
there it accumulates in a water tank. Some of the vapor
produced inside the chamber condenses on walls and then
by gravity collects in the bottom where with the help of a
Table 13.1 Calculated Douglas-fir wood depths of penetration for pump is transferred to the water tank. The rate of water
various frequencies (915 and 2450 MHz are typical microwave collecting in the tank can be monitored and thus also the
frequencies)
wood-load drying rate, something that is quite difficult in the
f (MHz) 5.0 13.56 27.12 40.0 915 2450 case of conventional drying. This gives the operating system
λo (m) 60.0 22.1 11.1 7.5 0.328 0.122 an absolute control of the drying process. Furthermore, the
D (m) 23.9 8.8 4.4 3.0 0.13 0.0158 plate-wood part of the system can be viewed as a large
13 Basics of Wood Drying 693

RF Dryer Drop
Green Conventional Planer
sort
lumber kiln
wets
RF voltage
Generator
RFV
13

Fig. 13.17 Proposed DSRD strategy with an RFV re-dryer, based on

RF voltage

[49]
+ Electrode –

Wood
a b
– Electrode +

Fig. 13.15 Schematic design of an RFV dryer

c d
Dielectric index (DI)

Fig. 13.18 Four types of RFV dryers developed in British Columbia,

Canada, between 1990 and early 2000s: (a) original unit with vertical
electrodes, (b) second-generation unit with horizontal electrodes, (c) and
5% 30% (d) third-generation units
M (%)
Douglas- Hemlock Ponderosa
fir pine
thus minimizing over-drying but increasing under-drying part
of the population (explained in 13.6.1) can be easily
Fig. 13.16 End-point moisture content detection algorithm for three implemented with the use of RFV dryers (Fig. 13.18)
wood species grown in British Columbia, Canada
[54–56].
The re-drying will take only few hours (6–8) and the final
moisture content variance within and between boards will be
capacitance moisture meter. Using the same principles used
greatly minimized. The unit pictured in Fig. 13.18c is actu-
by in-line moisture meters in sawmill and knowledge of the
ally a unit specifically designed to handle high M
dielectric properties of each species, a dielectric index (DI)
50  100 mm western hemlock wets that were produced in
can be created with the help of the RF generator electronics
the sawmill by DSRD [38, 57].
coupled with specialty developed algorithms that can pro-
RFV drying has many advantages over conventional dry-
duce a very powerful system of detecting the end of the
ing systems.
drying run [38] (Fig. 13.16).
RFV drying research and development took off through
• It has very short drying times, up to 90% reduction com-
the 1990s and early 2000s. Commercial units of various sizes
pared to thick wood dried in convective kilns
and configurations were manufactured and installed in vari-
• The product quality is excellent due to low drying tem-
ous sawmills and remanufacturing facilities (Fig. 13.17). The
peratures and drying stresses. Lack of oxygen will
DSRD strategy of drying wood to a relatively higher target Mf
694 S. Avramidis et al.

eliminate oxidative reactions and potential surface Superheated Steam Vacuum Drying
discolorations A hybrid between conventional and vacuum drying is the
• Can dry very thick timbers (Fig. ▶ 10.15a-d) and can also so-called superheated steam vacuum drying or SSV. In this
dry short pieces for finger-jointing since no stickering is case, superheated steam (water vapor at temperature higher
allowed than the boiling point) is used under low-pressure conditions
• Provides a dried product with significantly less variation and forced through stickered layers of lumber, heating by
in final moisture content within and between boards convection, and a continuous vacuum-drying process can be
• Is purely electrical with high efficiency and low drying achieved. This process is known as SSV or convective vac-
costs that in many cases can be up to 50% of the drying uum. Superheated steam has better heat transfer properties
costs in conventional dry kilns than hot air at the same temperature; however, steam under
• Fully automated process with excellent drying run termi- vacuum has lower heat capacity (due to lower density) and
nation point and minimum labor involvement drying rates are lower than with hot moist air as in conven-
• Friendly to the environment with low carbon footprint tional drying. This can be compensated by circulating air at
since the collected water from wood can be treated before high speeds, of about 10 m/s, and by frequent fan reversals.
discarded and if electricity is produced by green means, SSV has been credited for faster drying times and no surface
drying is also green discoloration.
As is seen in Fig. 13.19, there is a significant reduction of
However, the main disadvantage of the RFV dryers is the the drying times between convective and SSV drying for
very high initial investment to design and build an RFV
system. These systems are much smaller (e.g., capacity of
75 m3), than conventional large-size kilns; however, drying a
speeds are much greater so that comparable volumes can be

m
mm

m
27 m
80

27 m
processed in the same time, but with all the quality benefits

m
52

65
discussed above. Large commercial dry kilns can reach m
70 m
capacities almost ten times that size; however, costs of drying 52
mm
Mg (%)

and wood handling are highly higher so a detailed analysis 60

65
must always be done before investing in timber drying 50
systems.
Last point about RFV systems is that they can also be used 40
to phytosanitize (pasteurize) green wood products and logs 30
before exporting them by just running the RF generator
without vacuum. This way RF waves are solely used for 20
5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
swift heating of the wood volume within the two electrodes
Oak drying time (days)
to temperatures around 60  C for 20 minutes so that all
microorganisms, namely, fungi, nematodes, and insects are
b
killed [38, 50, 51, 58–62].
Designing an RFV unit seems effortless; however, putting
80
52 mm

m
65 mm

the parts together and expecting a smooth and optimized

52 mm

65 mm
90 mm

90 m

performance is quite a challenging task. This is because the 70

dielectric properties of the “load” (i.e., the wood volume
60
between the electrodes) change with the decrease of moisture
content. Therefore, a matching network is needed to be 50
between the power amplifier and the electrodes that will
continuously monitor the changing properties of the load 40
and accordingly adjusting power output tuning of the ampli- 30
fier in order to maintain load maximum energy input and
process efficiency. That technology is tricky to develop and 20
1 5 10 15 20
implement. For more background about RFV drying, the Softwood drying time (days)
reader is referred to the following publications [36, 45,
63–68].
Fig. 13.19 Drying time comparisons between conventional (blue) and
SSV (red) sawn timber of various thicknesses
13 Basics of Wood Drying 695

hardwoods and softwoods. For example, oak boards of thickness of lumber do not greatly affect the drying rate.
52 mm in thickness will dry from an initial moisture content When moisture drops below Mfsp, moisture movement is
of 60% to 20% in about 61–62 days whereas in SSV it will dominated by diffusion. This mechanism also works in the
take about 15 days, a significant drying time reduction. Same sapwood of impermeable species, in which moisture
trend can be observed for softwoods. The time reduction passway is blocked by aspirated pits and so on. It is worth
becomes larger as the thickness of wood increases [38, 39, mentioning that lumber drying is intricate and seldom con-
69–72]. ▶ Chap. 23 will provide more information about the trolled by a single process.
SSV process and hardware. Many empirical and graphical-analytical methods have 13
been proposed to model wood drying over last decades.
Bramhall (1976) [84] proposed one of the first purely
13.6 Modeling of the Drying Process empirical lumber drying models as follows:

Process modeling is of great significance in the analysis of dM Pvd  Pvw

¼ ð13:18Þ
design and optimization of dryers [73–75]. The most essen- dt R
tial part of process model development involves determina-
where Pvd and Pvw are saturation pressure of water vapor at
tion of the drying kinetics, which describe the mechanisms
the dry-bulb and the wet-bulb temperature (Pa) and Rm is
and the influence that certain process variables exert on
resistance to moisture movement (Pa s kg kg1). The driving
moisture removal processes. The most frequently encoun-
force is the difference between Pvd and Pvw. Resistance to
tered phenomenon in the modeling of drying operations is
moisture movement is calculated by either of the following
moisture transfer [76–80]. In typical industrial applications,
forms:
the kinetic models, rather than being strictly mechanistic, are
often only quasi-mechanistic and, sometimes, mostly empir-   c
ical. A complete description of the actual mechanisms R ¼ c1 exp c2 M or R ¼ c3 M 4 ð13:19Þ
involved is usually not obtainable and would certainly be
where c1 to c4 are fitted constants.
complex [81–83].
Tschernitz and Simpson (1979) [85] put another model
Many approaches have been suggested to quantitatively
forward by the following equation:
describe the removal of moisture from wood. These models
require information on physical properties such as porosity,
 
density, permeability, diffusion, and thermal conductivity and bt
ɸ ¼ exp ð13:20Þ
the dependence of the coefficients describing the above trans- ln
fer processes on moisture, temperature, and direction.
Lumber drying rate involves the motion of water mole- where t is drying time (day), l is timber thickness (cm), b is an
cules including vapor and/or liquid through the multiplex, empirical parameter, and n is an empirical parameter.
anisotropic, and heterogeneous medium known as wood. Helmer et al. (1980) [86] offered a model, which was
Understanding wood drying kinetics has a great impact on almost identical to Bramhall’s model. This empirical model
predicting and improving lumber drying rate, process cost, was later used as a part of a solar drying model.
and final product quality.
Three main elements including relative humidity (H ),
dM AH 0  AH
temperature (T ), and air velocity (u) profoundly affect the ¼ ð13:21Þ
rate of kiln drying lumber. Elevated and reduced H in a kiln, dt R
respectively, increases and decreases equilibrium moisture where AH0 is saturation humidity at the dry-bulb temperature
content (Memc) in wood. Temperature, however, greatly (g/m3), AH is bulk air humidity (kg/m3), and Rm is resistance
influences lumber drying rate, affecting the moisture- to moisture movement (m s kg2 kg1).
carrying capacity of the air. For instance, 1 kg of dry air Resistance to moisture movement is associated with the
with 40 g of moisture is capable to absorb further 9.5 g and average moisture and the dry-bulb temperature. This function
519 g of moisture at 40  C and 80  C, respectively. An is stated in the following equation:
increase of air velocity boosts drying rate especially when
moisture is above fiber saturation point (Mfsp). Beyond Mfsp, R¼M
2:38
ð0:298T d  4:18Þ ð13:22Þ
moisture flow is controlled by the mass liquid flow and
drying rate is relevant to heat transfer from air to the lumber. The general predictions of the solar kiln using this model
In this phase, wood density, the thickness of cell wall, and
696 S. Avramidis et al.

were sensible, though the predictions of the drying model model of drying time at the low temperature in batch
were not trialed clearly. kilns is
Milota and Tschernits (1990) [87] developed a model for
drying of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) at an elevated temper- 0:233 π2 ðMs  Memc Þ þ 0:81ðM0  Ms Þ
ature that included Tdb of 82  C to 132  C and Wbd of 60  C to t¼ 1þ ln B
Dm 4Bi 2
M  Menc
93  C. This empirical drying model includes two stages, that
ð13:28Þ
is, initial constant rate drying period and falling rate period.
Equations 13.18 and 13.21 are offered to model the former
where Dm is mean moisture diffusion coefficient (m2/s),
and latter stages, respectively.
Bi is mass-transfer Biot number (βb/De), B is coefficient,
Ms is surface moisture (%) when the moisture mean is M at
Fcr ¼ ½0:01208 þ 0:00679ðT db  T wb Þ  2:482 time t, Me is corresponding equilibrium value (%), and M0
5 2 is moisture value in core at the start of drying (%).
 10 ðT db  T wb Þ  f v ð13:23Þ
In case of a three-step drying schedule for beech (Fagus
where Fcr is constant drying rate (kg/h.m2), Tdb is dry-bulb sylvatica), Eq. 13.23 changes into a practical form as
temperature ( C), Twb is wet-bulb temperature ( C), and fv is a represented in Eq. 13.24:
parameter related to air velocity (m/min), which is evaluated
through either of the following equations:
0:81ðM0  Me1 Þ M  Me2 M  Me3
t¼C ln 02 þ ln 03

0:3 M1  Me1 M2  Me2 M3  Me3
v
fv ¼ for v < 6:8 m=s ð13:24Þ ð13:29Þ
1329

0:5
v where M1 ¼ mean moisture (%) at the ith stage of drying
fv ¼ for v > 6:8 m=s ð13:25Þ
1329 program, M01 is moisture value (%) in the core at the
Drying rate is evaluated for the drying rate by fitting to the start of that step, Mei is corresponding equilibrium mois-
curves of drying rate as a function of moisture through the ture (%) for the specified relative humidity, and C is
next equation: coefficient (s1) depends upon the board thickness, the
width of the stack, and air speed in the kiln. Using
n n 1=n monograms, the width of the stack and air speed in the
Fm ¼ ½ST ðM  Memc Þ þ ðFcr Þ ð13:26Þ
kiln are determined.
where Fm is falling drying rate (kg.m2/h), ST is the slope of Normalization of drying-rate curves has extensively used
the asymptote to the curve of drying rate as a function of to grasp the characteristics of industrial drying plants. Van
moisture at equilibrium, and n is a parameter that deter- Meel (1958) [90] put an analysis for the behavior of convec-
mines the shape of the drying curve at different conditions. tive batch drying and presumed that there is a corresponding
Olek et al. (1994) [88] came up with a new empirical particular drying rate relevant to unhindered drying rate in the
model for drying of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and first drying period, which is independent of the external
proposed the following equation: drying conditions. Relative drying rate is clarified by the
following equation:
dM a2
 ¼ a1 þ ð13:27Þ
dt ð100MÞn þ a3 f ¼
Nv
ð13:30Þ
bv
N
where a1, a2, a3, and n are fitted parameters to the experi-
mental data and they are diverse with drying conditions. where Nv is drying rate (% s1) and Nbv is the rate in the first
Aside from empirical methods, several researchers have period of drying limited by the external convection (% s1).
worked with graphical-analytical methods for wood drying Characteristic moisture is defined as follows:
modeling. In 1971, Moscow State Forestry University
developed methods upon which, onward standards for M  Memc
ɸ¼ ð13:31Þ
lumber kiln drying have been approved. Two versions Mcr  Memc
were put up. One is based on graphical-analytical solutions
of the theoretical equations and the other is based on using where M is volume–averaged moisture (%), Mcr is
nomograms and tables for specific drying conditions moisture at a critical point (%), and Memc is moisture at
described in the standards [89]. As an example, the equilibrium (%).
Ashworth (1977) [91] conveyed that characteristic drying
curve is appropriate to describe kiln drying behavior of
13 Basics of Wood Drying 697

softwoods, given that the curve is according to small-scale relative drying rate ( f1) are expressed, in turn, in terms of
drying tests with a sample of the same thickness. Likewise, absolute moisture (M) and actual drying rate ( jw), as follows
Nijdam (1998) [92] did a detailed analysis of the mass-
transfer processes on softwood boards and reached the iden- M  M2
ϕ1 ¼ , M2 < M < M1 ; ð13:35Þ
tical conclusion. Keey and Walker (1988) [93] claimed that M1  M2
the appearance of the characteristic drying curve ( f as a
jw  jw2
function of ɸ) displays the wood permeability. The curve is f1 ¼ , jw2 < jw < jw1 : ð13:36Þ
jw1  jw2 13
concave-downwards in permeable wood while concave-
upwards in impermeable wood. The former shape exhibited The second falling drying-rate period applies to the step of
often in the drying of sapwood of softwood with fast moisture drying in which, lumber reach equilibrium moisture and
movement, whereas the latter shape exhibited in hardwoods drying comes to the end. Normalized moisture (ɸ2) and
with a high amount of extractives, which hinder water relative drying rate ( f2) are expressed as follows:
movement.
Kayihan (1993) [94] defines an empirical model that M  Memc
ϕ2 ¼ , M2 > M > Memc ; ð13:37Þ
includes the impacts of the external conditions (through a M1  Memc
constant-rate drying parameter) and the internal moisture-
jw
transport process (through a diffusion parameter b) to esti- f ¼ , jw2 > jw > 0: ð13:38Þ
jw2
mate the rate of the change of the average moisture (M) as
below: The parameters M1, M2, and jw2 are characteristics func-
tions for each species.
dM bM Although the pass-ways for diffusion and capillary flow
 ¼h  3 i1=3 ð13:32Þ
dt (permeability) of water in wood are the same, their contribu-
1 þ bM=a
tion in these two mechanisms are varied because the rate of
diffusion is proportionate to its cross-sectional (πr2) area
In Eq. 13.32, the activation energy dependence of the while the rate of permeability for laminar flow in tubes is in
drying behavior on temperature is involved in parameter b proportion to πr4, based on the Hagen-Poiseuille equation.
as expressed in the following equation The effect of small pores (tubes) has a greater contribution to
diffusional processes than to permeability. Consequently, the


2700 diffusion of water in the swollen cell wall is more significant
b ¼ b0 exp  ð13:33Þ
T than across the pits as the area available in the cell wall itself
is much bigger than the openings in the cell wall. Figure 13.20
where T is temperature ( K). presents a general overview of different pass-ways through
Keey and Pang (1994) [95] described the drying kinetics softwoods [5].
of radiata pine (Pinus radiata), using a characteristic drying In actuality, there is no single “best” model and there is a
curve, and analyzed the mechanisms of moisture movement considerable variability among the predictions of most
by which three steps in the drying of sapwood and two steps models mainly owing to the uncertain coefficients for the
in the drying of heartwood were identified, respectively. A
dual characteristic curve represents drying kinetics, covering
the two falling-rate phases, in order to reach simplified
expressions for the drying kinetics. The constant-rate period Cell walls
(Bound/liquid)
is only for sapwood. This period starts from initial moisture
content (M0) down to the first critical point (M1) and Fiber cavities Pit pores
expressed as follows: (Vapor/liquid) (Vapor/liquid)

 Pit chambers
0
jw1 ¼ φK 0 Hs  Hg ð13:34Þ (Vapor/liquid)

where Hs  H 0g is humidity potential (%), K0 is mass transfer Pit membrane

(Bound/liquid)
coefficient, and φ is humidity-potential coefficient that is a
function of the wet-bulb temperature (Twb). Cell walls, continuous
The first falling-rate phase applies from the moisture of M1 (Bound/liquid)
to M2 (the second critical point) and the corresponding drying
rate applies from jw1 to jw2. The normalized moisture (ɸ1) and
Fig. 13.20 Various flow paths through softwoods [5]
698 S. Avramidis et al.

models, various degrees of simplifications, and different hydraulic conductivity (m s1), and μ is vapor viscosity
methods to solve heat and mass transfer problems. In this (Pa s).
regard, Kamke and Vanek (1994) [96] concluded that sophis- Various coefficients in these equations are not constant
ticated models do not essentially perform better than simple with respect to temperature and moisture. Even if these
ones do unless the required physical property data is ade- coefficients are considered as constant, solving the equations
quate. In other words, a simple model may work quite satis- is intricate.
factorily, provided that sufficient physical property data is Hardwoods and the heartwood of softwoods show quite
obtainable for both the species and drying conditions within different moisture profiles compared to sapwood of softwood
the range of which, a model is developed. Furthermore, the does, owing to the reflection of the relative permeability and
models that discrete the transport mechanisms are preferred ultrastructure of the different wood species. Shubin (1990)
to predict stress and strain behavior or for other purposes that [89] pointed out that moisture distribution in drying beech
need detailed heat and mass transfer information. (Fagus sylvatica) and the heartwood of pine (Pinus sp.)
Notwithstanding the fact that describing moisture move- illustrated diffusion-like parabolic profiles. In contrast, the
ment based on diffusion are quite good in many cases, much drying of larch (Larix sp.) showed steep moisture gradients
attention has recently been paid to models by which various that are consistent with respect to the presence of an evapo-
transport mechanisms involved in the moisture movement rative plane near the surface. The moisture profiles in the core
can be considered. Such models are aimed to provide a better of a permeable species are rather flat at the beginning of the
understanding of lumber-drying process, thereby without the drying because assumingly the moisture moves as a liquid
need for extensive pilot-scale trials; we can improve drying under a pressure gradient. In the sapwood of softwood, the
schedules and maintain the lumber quality. Many recent permeability decreases gradually with a slight steepening of
studies described the lumber drying process by considering moisture gradients in the core. This trend occurs perhaps due
different transport mechanisms for bound water, free water, to the random aspiration of the bordered pits that leads to
and water vapor [97–101] and normally each piece of lumber blocking the liquid pathways [92]. McCurdy and Keey
taken into account as a homogeneous, hygroscopic, and (1998) [103] dried Pinus radiata at 120  C and reported
porous material. moisture at the core of the specimens to be relatively uniform.
From mass and energy balance over a volume element, a It is well known that the main goal of lumber drying is to
set of equations for the change of moisture (M), temperature reduce Mg to Mt. Practically, a large number of the pieces of
(T ), and pressure (P), with regard to time (t) is derived and lumber dry in a batch kiln simultaneously, which imposes a
represented as follows: great deal of variability of Mi to each batch of drying, which
consequently leads to an unacceptable (under-dried and over-
dried) lumber. For this reason, a systematic evaluation of Mf
@M 2 2
¼ Dρb ∇ M þ Dδρb ∇ T ð13:39Þ can help the kiln’s operator to make an objective and sensible
@t decision in terms of the optimization of the drying schedules
where D is diffusion coefficient (m2 s1), ρb is basic wood [104, 105]. For this purpose, stochastic simulation has been
density (kg/m3), and δ is thermal gradient coefficient used by several researchers to improve the prediction of Mf.
Stochastic simulation is a kind of simulation which is
designed to predict the outcome of systems (processes)
@T 2 εΔH LV @T containing many similar, but not identical components
¼ λ∇ T þ ð13:40Þ
@t CX @t [106]. In the probabilistic analysis, understanding of the Mf
is crucial on the grounds that the classical parametric statis-
where λ is thermal conductivity (kg.m/s3. K), ε is phase
tics are according to specific probabilistic distribution
transformation criterion (desorption and evaporation), ΔHLV
assumption [107]. Researchers have rigorously developed
is the heat of phase transformation (J mol1), and Cx is
numerical stochastic models to simulate M dispersion during
modified heat capacity (kg m2  K1 s2) of the unit mass of
and post-conventional drying [106, 108, 109]. In addition,
dry woody matter and its associated moisture
Cronic et al. (1997) [110], Cronin et al. (2002) [111], and
Cronin et al. (2003) [112] investigated on the probabilistic
    analysis and design of the industrial timber drying process
@P RT K @M P @T
¼ ∇ ∇P þ ερb : ð13:41Þ and schedules. Elustondo and Avramidis (2005) [106] com-
@t ΨMv μ @t T @t
pared three methods for lumber drying simulation, namely,
where R is universal gas constant (J mol1 K1), Ψ is the Cronin’s method, Monte Carlo Method, and Proposed
fraction of tracheids or vessels occupied by moisture vapor method. After comparing these three methods, Elustondo
(%), Mv is the molar mass of the vapor (kg mol1), K is and Avramidis (2005) [106] claimed that proposed method
is able to be implemented to an iterative type of calculations,
13 Basics of Wood Drying 699

like process optimization or data fitting. In addition, because

the proposed method simulates continuous density of proba-
bilities, the simulated frequency distribution is greatly
smoother than the one achieved by Monte Carlo method for Mi
the same number of simulations. Pros and cons of these three
methods are relatively associated with the application; how- Mr
GM
ever, the proposed method brings a better resolution, repro-
ducibility, and accuracy in case of using a lot of simulations. 13
Monte Carlo method, however, is capable of providing better Drying
realistic random results in case we use only a small number of time
simulated points.
Watanabe et al. (2016) [107] used bootstrap method for Input Hidden layer Output
probabilistic evaluation of Mf in kiln-dried lumber. Two layer (5 hidden nodes) layer
characteristic parameters including standard deviation
(SD) and the percentage of the pieces of lumber with Mf
below 20% (P20). Results showed that the moisture data did Fig. 13.21 Configuration of a 3-5-1 neural network for the prediction
of drying rate
not follow any classical probability distribution such as
Normal, Log-Normal, Weibull, and Gamma, which indi-
cated the need for nonparametric statistics. Watanabe et al. models would work satisfactorily presuming that enough
(2016) [107] also claimed that the bootstrap method is physical property data is attainable for both the species and
perhaps suitable for analysis of not only the data obtained drying conditions within the range of which, a model is made.
from the lumber drying process but also the strength data of Concerning the prediction of moisture of lumber drying
structural lumber, because of the simplicity of the bootstrap batches (prior to, during, and post-drying), although stochas-
method, which allows its application in a broad variety of tic simulations help, they are involved with complex and
fields. intricate models, which come from the ponderous nature of
Artificial neural network (ANN) is a network of highly such equations. However, Monte Carlo using bootstrap and
interconnected neural computing elements that are capable of ANN provide us with simpler ways to predict lumber drying
responding to input stimuli and learning to adapt to the indexes.
environment. ANN provides an effective tool to model the
intricate and poorly understood processes that exist in nature.
ANN extracts functional relationships between model inputs 13.7 Drying Quality
and outputs from data without a need for explicit consider-
ation of the actual data that generated the process. Wu and Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high
Avramidis (2006) [113] applied ANN to predict Mf of the intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execu-
tion; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives. (William
lumber drying of hem-fir based on Mi, basic density (in this A. Foster)
particular paper showed as Gm), and drying time
(Fig. ▶ 10.18). ANN application showed promising results, Every company that manufactures a product strives to pro-
indicating that such a model can simply be applied with no vide the best quality for the best price in order to maintain and
requirement of assuming a mathematical model of the pro- increase clientele basis. Forest products producers do exactly
cess (Fig. 13.21). the same thing. Sawmills produce boards of variable dimen-
To summarize, the appropriateness of drying models with sions, moisture content, and grade. Grade is the result of
respect to wood drying kinetics depends on the desired defects that can have an appearance and/or performance
results and the needed level of fundamental physical under- effect on the particular board pending on its final use.
standing. Most of the empirical models are not suitable to Drying losses in the wood mass include boards that drop
place drying stress under scrutiny because they provide no one or more grades after drying and boards that require
information about moisture gradients. It is difficult to inter- remanufacturing to maintain their grade. The first group is
pret the results of multiplex-mechanism approaches and their termed as drying degrade [114]. Wengert (1993) [115] classi-
highly complex mathematics, though they provide useful fied their causes into six major categories: (1) dried too fast;
information. In some cases, simple diffusion models yet (2) drying too slow; (3) poor stacking; (4) operator or manage-
estimate moisture gradient nicely. In a broad overview, ment error; (5) equipment problems; and (6) natural effects.
there is no single “best” model. In fact, sophisticated models According to their appearance, Ward and Simpson (1997)
do not necessarily work better than simple ones do. Simple [116] categorized them into the following groups:
700 S. Avramidis et al.

(1) discolorations; (2) shape deformations; (3) uneven moisture

content; and (4) rupture of wood tissue. The majority of drying a 12 120
Count

Cumulative frequency (%)

degradation attributes is associated with the anisotropic shrink- Cumulative 100
10
age of wood (Fig. ▶ 10.24). Although not a “loss” in the strict

Piece count
way of the definition and value since it can be alleviated and 8 80
even, fully recovered, moisture variability between boards 6 60
(Mbb) as mentioned (Sect. 13.3.2) before is another quality-
4 40
related problem that needs to be considered firstly.
2 20
0 0
13.7.1 Moisture Variability 10 30 50 70 90 110 130 150 More
Initial moisture content (%)
Conventional wood kiln drying is a process of random
b 25 120

Cumulative frequency (%)

characteristics. In one commercial run, thousands of pieces Count
are simultaneously dried, all with a varied degree of differ- Cumulative 100
20
ence in their thermophysical properties and Mi. Further-

Piece count
80
more, ambient air conditions tend to not be completely 15
homogeneous throughout the kiln where T and H usually 60
oscillate in time and space due to control system limitations. 10
40
As a result, board positioning inside the kiln also affects
5 20
drying rate, and surface or internal checks that appear in
some or all of the boards could change their internal heat 0 0
and mass transfer characteristics. 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 More
Figure 13.2 shows the reasons why a large variability in Initial moisture content (%)
green moisture content (Mg) among boards of the same kiln
charge is always present, especially in softwoods, and it is Fig. 13.22 (a) Green moisture distribution for hemlock (average ¼
mainly due to the moisture differences between sapwood and 82%, StDev ¼ 38%, COV ¼ 46.3%) [108, 109]. (b) Moisture content
heartwood. Once the boards are in the kiln, random differ- distribution after kiln drying (average ¼ 14%, StDev ¼ 2.6%, COV ¼
18.6%) [108, 109]
ences in Mg and wood properties induce individual boards of
the same charge to dry at a different rates. As a result, board
M after drying fluctuates within a wide range of values. In Drying objective: move
industrial drying, this problem is further aggravated by non- the mean and compress
uniform kiln drying conditions due mainly to hardware cal-
Board piece count

the spread
ibration and malfunction issues. Typical sources of
nonuniformity in an industrial kiln involve poor board pack-
age arrangement; unbalanced hot air distribution from the
heaters; unbalanced fresh air distribution from the vents;
incorrect air flow distribution from the kiln fans; excessive
temperature drop across the load; and excessive cold air
Overdried
)
%
%
%

(%

leakage, among others [117]. Under-dried

12
15
19

80

Figure 13.22a and b show the Mg and final moisture or “wets”

content (Mf) distributions in a Tsuga heterophylla timbers
dried in a conventional kiln, respectively. The large standard Fig. 13.23 Representative distributions of Mg and Mf in an
deviation and therefore, coefficient of variation for the green industrial kiln
board population is quite evident and the direct result of the
sapwood presence. In this particular study, the range of Mg As seen in Fig. 13.23, high Mf variability causes two
was 30 to 200%, approximately, the latter being all sapwood. problems to the timber producer, namely, a portion of the
The Mf distribution in this case was quite good considering dried population if far below the minimum acceptable
mostly because the drying was performed in a laboratory kiln M (12% in this example) also known as “overdried” wood
where scale and process variation are quite small. In indus- that it mainly suffers from excessive degrade and, thus, great
trial kilns, COVs closer to 25–30% are much more com- value loss. At the same time, there is another population
monly present for wood species of highly variable Mi. portion with M above the maximum accepted level (19% in
this example) that is still “wet” and, although the expected
13 Basics of Wood Drying 701

13% 24% 13% 24%

Over
On On
Dried Over
Grade Grade
# of timbers

Dried
Wets
Group A Group B Wets
13

60% M(%) Mf (%) Mf (%)

Fig. 13.25 Increase of “wets” percentage when target M is increased

in DSRD
Kiln A Kiln B

Fig. 13.24 The general concept of moisture-based presorting to mini- 40 30

mize Mf standard deviation

Percentage of pieces (%)

35 Value loss 25

Value loss ($/Mfbm)

30 $/Mfbm
degrade should be close to nil, their high M renders them 20
25
non-usable in many applications. 20 15
Mf variability is a serious production problem because it Wets
15 10
produces pieces of lumber with M outside the minimum and
maximum limits recommended for commercial proposes. 10
The dilemma therefore for the sawmill drying manager is 5 Downgrade 5
how to minimize the “overdried” and “wets” percentages of 0 0
the total kiln population. In other words, how to “squeeze” 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
the Mf distribution. Currently, there are two tactics that can be Mf (%)
implemented: (a) presorting and (b) dry-sort-re-dry (DSRD)
strategies. Both provide opportunities to reduce Mf variability
Fig. 13.26 Loss of value in 2005 dollars as population of wets changes
[118, 119]. Presorting based on either Mg is a way to reduce (1Mfbm ¼ 2.36 m3) [58]
the natural variability occurring in a kiln charge.
The idea of moisture presorting is shown in Fig. 13.24. In
because over-drying promotes shrinkage and distortion, and
this example, 60% was selected as the cut-off point for
pieces with M much higher than the average have a lower value
population split. It has been shown [105] that a split like
because they are still wet for structural purposes (Fig. 13.26).
that will reduce the final spread of the population. The saw-
As drying proceeds, the wets reduce and the over-dried pieces
mill has to decide by trial-and-error what will be the best
increase, consequently it is impossible in practice to reduce
M break point and if there is one or more for the green timber
losses in the “wet” side of the M distribution without increasing
population.
losses in the dry side. Reducing Mf variability is therefore a
The DSRD strategy consists in avoiding over-dry lumber
priority in kiln drying, and it can be partially achieved in
by setting an Mf target higher than those normally used by
industry by implementing lumber sorting or DRSD.
industry, and then employing a subsequent re-drying pass to
The implementation of one of both the strategies by a
dry the larger amount of produced wets [119].
sawmill runs into a technical problem related to the ability
Figure 13.25 shows an application of DSRD where the
of measuring green M or the M of the drying population
target M is increased and immediately we can see the reduc-
inside a commercial kiln. Presorting based on green
tion of the overdried component and the increase of the wet
M requires in-line moisture meter capable of such that unfor-
component of the population. Again, the sawmill has to
tunately does not exist; however, the sawmill can use engi-
further investigate this strategy and decide what the optimum
neering data obtained from the meter and thus decide on the
target M should be.
split-point by correlating them to M. For the implementation
Moisture content variability among boards has a huge
of DSRD, time-based drying schedules should be carefully
impact on the monetary value of the dried lumber. Pieces
developed and implemented for the increase target Ms.
with M much lower than the average have a lower value
702 S. Avramidis et al.

13.7.2 Shape Distortions content, above 40% [1]. The incorrect stacking procedure can
be a contribution to bow. Both lumber and stickers must have
Shape distortions (warp) are any diversion of the face or edge a uniform thickness. Careful stickering practices, such as
of a lumber from the flatness or any edge that is perpendicular maintaining good vertical alignment and assuring no stickers
to the adjacent face or edge [1]. It is a result of the anisotropic are up on edge, are a contribution for decreases of bow.
shrinkage and presence of irregularity in wood structure as Foundations for green lumber piles, whether in the kiln,
high SOG, juvenile wood, or compression wood. It can occur pre-dryer, or air-drying yard, must be flat. Drying wood too
in one or more forms which are cup and diamonding, bow, slowly will exacerbate bow. Fast drying, especially at high
crook, and twist. Use of proper kiln schedule can help to moisture content, can reduce the amount of bow, but fast
reduce them (Fig. 13.27). drying results in checks.
Bow is warp along the length of the face of lumber. It Many authors [124–126], reported twist as the most severe
occurs when one face of lumber shrinks more in length than problem in the construction industry. Twist is the turning of
the other. Bow causes the lengthwise curvature of a piece of the four corners of timber cross-section, so that they are no
lumber, such that it resembles a bow used in archery. Crook, longer in the same plane. In the wood science literature
or side bend, is warp along the length of the edge of lumber, [127, 128] it is often related with the fibril orientation and
and in squared wood products, baby-squares for example, distance from the center of a log, but some authors [129, 130]
bow is a general term. A localized crook often due to a knot is showed no or little correlation between twist and grain angle.
called kink. Twist does not occur directly after sawing but arise during
Bow can be developed in the green timber immediately seasoning of the wood [120]. Lumber containing these grain
after sawing as a result of growth stress release [120]. Usu- characteristics can sometimes be dried better with the proper
ally, wood closer to the center of tree shrinks longitudinally stacking procedures [1].
more along the grain than mature wood [121]. For that
reason, the part of a lumber with juvenile wood, which is in
disagreement with the mature part, will cause the lumber to 13.7.3 Checking (Cracking)
try to bow excessively during drying. If bow is significant,
that type of pieces will be classified as degraded after drying. Surface checks develop on the surface of a piece of lumber
The critical lumber could also be sawn from a crooked log or during drying. They are caused by tension stresses that
in wood around large branches [122, 123]. The wood cells in develop in the outer part of lumber as the drying progresses.
the resulting lumber are oriented at an angle, causing longi- When the drying stresses exceed the tensile strength of wood
tudinal shrinkage and a tendency to bow. perpendicular to the grain they start to emerge. It means that
Uniformity of thickness in a drying charge can also pro- these stresses may become great enough to tear the outer
duce bow problems. Improper saw feed speeds or lapses in fibers apart which later will cause the surface checking
saw maintenance can result in lumber that is thinner on the [1, 114].
ends than in the middle. This leads to a type of bow, called Since the shrinkage in the direction of the growth rings is
“pile bend,” which appears in the upper layers of a pack. greater, so the checking is most likely to occur mainly on the
Proper and timely handling can help to reduce or eliminate flatsawn surface of lumber and on the edges of quarter-sawn
bow. Wood that is wet and warm can bend quite easily. The lumber. This type of check often occurs along the rays which
shrinkage that causes bow usually occurs at high moisture form planes of weakness [131]. Surface checks, however,
could be closes up when the stress reversal happens [48].
Surface checking is more likely during the first stage of
drying process, when the lumber is green and loses one-third
of its moisture. So, the moisture gradient is considerable in
the first steps of drying, though in some softwoods the danger
still exists through the drying. In general, the main cause of
surface checking is drying the lumber too fast in the first
steps, and the result is even worse when the H is also too low,
velocity is too high, and excessive temperatures are applied
[1, 3, 131, 132]. Accordingly, Keey et al. (2000) [3] suggest
that this can be minimized by maintaining high relative
humidity at the first steps of drying, which will later prevent
surface shrinkage and increase the plasticity of the wood to
Kink Twist Cup Crook Bow
accommodate the stresses.
Honeycomb is an internal check caused by a tensile failure
Fig. 13.27 Types of shape distortions (warping) due to drying across the grain of wood and usually occurs along the wood
13 Basics of Wood Drying 703

rays. When the internal tension stresses develop in the inner

parts of a board, this type of cracks starts to occur. This is a and b c d
more probable when the core has still high moisture content W W⬘
(more than fiber saturation point) and the drying temperature
is tried to be increased. So, we can prevent this defect by
avoiding application of high temperatures when the wood has L
still free-water inside. In the other words, before safely rais-
ing the temperature, the core moisture content of the board 13
should have been dropped below the Mfsp to avoid emergence t t
of honeycomb [1].
The problem is that in many cases the defect is not found No case Case Reverse case
until the lumber is processed. This type of drying defects will hardening hardening hardening
then bring about significant losses in fiber.
Fig. 13.29 Prong test details: (a) cutting pattern, (b) free of case-
hardening, (c) case-hardened, (d) reverse case-hardened
13.7.4 Casehardening
makes the prong movement a function of the squared
Stress reversal in the late stages of the drying process causes
prong length:
the core to transition from a compressed to a tension condi-
tion. This phenomenon is called casehardening and is asso-
W  W0
ciated with fast-drying and the development of a high PR ¼ ð13:42Þ
moisture content gradient. As underlined by Skaar (1988) L2
[7], this term does not indicate that the surface is any where PR is the degree of casehardening (mm1), W is the
harder than wood which is not casehardened. However, pre-cut prong tip distance (mm), W′ is the released prong tip
the stiffness is affected if measurements are made right distance (mm), and L is the prong length (mm). Details
after drying. about the prong test are depicted in Fig. 13.29. If the degree
If the stresses are not relieved this condition will persist of casehardening is positive (prongs will move inward)
after the drying process. The defect is particularly a concern if casehardening is existent in the lumber. If the prongs
the wood is re-sawn lengthwise or machined for finger- move outward, the result will be negative and the phenom-
jointing because the imbalance will generate severe cupping. enon is called reversed casehardening (the lumber is partly
Similarly, with a spring subjected to tensile or compression dried).
forces, whose energy is released, the core will shrink and the
shell will enlarge (Fig. 13.28).
In order to reveal a potential correlation between check 13.7.5 Discolorations
formation and drying stresses, prong tests may be performed
at various drying stages. The test is widely used by the Change of wood color during drying is considered a defect
industry and it relies on the response of prong geometry only if (a) the product is used in applications where appear-
[133, 134]. The curve of the circle followed by bowing ance is important and (b) it is not superficial so that it can be
can be described as a second-degree polynomial, which removed in the planer. Generally speaking, discolorations
have not been reported to affect the mechanical and physical
performance of the timber in service [1].
In general, discoloration in drying is the result of an
oxidative reaction between the oxygen in a chemical that is
found in the wood, either extractive or in the parenchyma.
The precursors of discoloration develop during the capillary
phase of drying and the movement of liquid water is probably
the most important transportation mechanism for the
chemicals involved in discoloration. Well-known reactions
like that are the brown or coffee stains in various softwoods
and hardwoods (hemlock, sugar pine, white pine, birch, oak,
teak, maple, etc.). Modified kiln schedules with lower tem-
perature and moderate relative humidity levels might
Fig. 13.28 Cupping generated by case-hardening after re-sawing
704 S. Avramidis et al.

alleviate the problem in some cases. Drying in a reduced 18. Perré, P.: Holzforschung. 61(4), 419–429 (2007)
oxygen content environment might alleviate the problem. 19. Babiak, M., Kudela, J.: Wood Sci. Technol. 29(3), 217–226 (1995)
20. Schniewind, A.P.: Forest Prod. J. 13(11), 475–480 (1963)
A second common type discoloration is the sticker-stain. 21. McMillen, J.M.: Stresses in Wood during Drying, 174pp. Madison,
The contact area between wood and a sticker may result in U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Product
accumulation of chemicals from the wood and reaction with Laboratory, 1652 (1958)
sticker chemicals may result in a distinct line on the surface of 22. USDA. Wood handbook. Wood as an Engineering material
U.S. Department of Agriculture General Technical Report
wood which may be superficial or not. In some cases, this is a FPL-GTR-113. 486pp (1999)
superficial discoloration that is taken out in the planer, but in 23. Whale, L.R.J.: Deformations characteristics of nailed or bolted
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i-beam or bone one thus reducing contact area and allowing 27. Wu, Q.: Rheological behavior of Douglas-fir as related to the
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University, USA.

Prof. Dr. Stavros Avramidis received a BF from Aristotle University

of Thessaloniki, and an MS and PhD from the State University of
New York. He joined the University of British Columbia as Professor
of Wood Physics and Drying since 1987. He was elected Fellow of the
International Academy of Wood Science and Fellow of the Institute of
Materials, Metals and Minerals. He served on many international pro-
fessional organizations, national and international R&D and policy
committees, editorial boards of scientific journals, and project reviewer
and monitor for EU, USDA, US-NSF, and Canada-NSERC. He is a
standing reviewer with many scientific journals, twice UBC senator.

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