Chang-Deuk Eom

Evaluation of Physical Properties of Korean Pine (Pinus koraiensis Siebold & Zucc.) Lumber Heat-Treated by Superheated Steam

In this study, the method for heat treating wood using superheated steam (SHS) was designed

Comparison of Vacuum Drying Characteristics of Radiata Pine Timber Using Different Heating Methods

Abstract Timber logs 14 × 14 × 240 cm long were dried in a vacuum kiln to compare vacuum drying characteristics using contact heating, radiofrequency heating, and the combination of both. Relationships between moisture content (MC) and time for vacuum conductive drying (VCD), RF/vacuum drying (RFVD), and hybrid vacuum drying (HVD) were close to linear. The hybrid vacuum drying offered the higher moisture removal rate than VCD and RFVD. Specific energy consumption curves as a function of MC comprised three sections; rapidly increasing, slightly decreasing, and moderately increasing. Average specific energy (kWh/kg of water removal) for VCD, RFVD, and HVD was 0.352, 0.520, and 0.461 kWh/kg, respectively. Transverse MC distribution represented the convex profile for VCD, the fluctuating profile for RFVD, and the flat profile for HVD. Transverse and longitudinal moisture gradient of HVD was much lower than those of VCD and RFVD. HVD has a very beneficial effect on preventing of surface checks. There were no end- and internal checks of dried timber in three vacuum drying methods.

Some considerations in heterogeneous nonisothermal transport models for wood: a numerical study

This study compares a number of coupled heat and mass transfer models and presents numerical comparisons of phenomenological coefficients between the four models (Stanish, Perre, Pang, and Avramidis) that are most frequently used in the literature to describe wood-drying processes. The USDA sorption isotherm, the Hailwood-Horrobin model, was adopted to calculate the relations between moisture content in wood and water vapor pressure at any temperature. Due to different assumptions about the driving forces of heat and mass transfer, coefficients in each model represent different values for moisture content and temperature and are closely related to each other. In the case of isothermal mass transfer, the moisture diffusion coefficient in the transverse directions from the Stanish and Pang models increased with decreasing moisture content. This contradicts the Avramidis and Perre models and numerous experimental results. Thermal diffusion effects on the drying process may not be predominant because the nonisothermal state is relatively short. Therefore, the Perre model, which does not consider the thermal diffusion effect, has been used successfully in the drying simulation. However, it may be erroneous in certain cases when the nonisothermal state prevails over the system, such as building physics. The Pang model cannot explain the phenomena of thermal diffusion and moisture thermodiffusion. It might be reasonable to modify the thermal diffusion of the Avramidis model, which is lower than that of the Stanish model. The apparent heat diffusivity was higher than the true heat diffusivity.

Combined treatment of green pitch pine wood by heat and superheated steam and the effects on physical properties of the products

Abstract Pitch pine (P. rigida) wood was treated with superheated steam (SHS) and the subsequent effects due to drying and heat treatment (HT) were observed. The following treatment parameters were tested: 180°C air HT, 220°C air HT, 0.1 MPa–180°C SHS HT, 0.1 MPa–220°C SHS HT, 0.5 MPa–180°C SHS HT, and 0.5 MPa–220°C SHS HT. No drying checks were observed in the specimens (500×150×50 mm3) treated at 0.5 MPa–220°C SHS and with these treatment parameters, equilibrium moisture content (EMC) was the lowest. Low EMC has an effect on physical properties such as shrinkage, compressive strength parallel to the grain, bending strength, hardness, and decay resistance. Based on the results, it is expected that the green wood in a large scale is possible to be simultaneously dried and heat-treated without occurrence of checks by the SHS HT process.

The effect of openings on combined bound water and water vapor diffusion in wood

This study was undertaken to estimate the effect of openings between cell walls on combined bound water and water vapor diffusion in wood. Using a newly developed model, the radial and tangential moisture diffusion coefficients can be predicted depending on the opening area. The new model explicitly involves a term for water vapor diffusion through the openings, as well as a term for the combined diffusion of bound water and water vapor. A classical model developed by Stamm and Choong had higher longitudinal moisture diffusion coefficients than that in the parallel model at higher moisture content, which is inconsistent with the Wiener bound rule. The new model suggested in this article is useful for analyzing the experimental results and understanding the variability of the diffusion coefficients.

Analysis of Factors Affecting the Hygroscopic Performance of Thermally Treated Pinus koraiensis Wood

A high airtightness is required for the residential spaces constructed recently to save cooling and heating energy through improving insulation performance. Because the chances to release steam formed by human activity in building and inflow of water vapor in outdoor air to residential space are reduced, the natural humidity control performance of interior materials has become more important. In this study, hygroscopic performance of thermo-physically treated wood (Pinus koraiensis) was estimated. At various relative humidity condition, the water vapor adsorption and desorption rates of wooden materials were measured as well as equilibrium moisture content. Effects of roughness and surface microstructure as physical factors and functional groups as chemical factors on the hygroscopicity were analyzed. It is expected that the results from this study and further study of measuring moisture generation in residential spaces could contribute to install a system for evaluating the hygrothermal performance of wooden building.

Evaluation of Surface Moisture Content of Liriodendron tulipifera Wood in the Hygroscopic Range Using NIR Spectroscopy

For efficient use of wood, it is important to control moisture of wood in processing wood. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy can be used to estimate the physical and chemical properties of materials quickly and nondestructively. In this study, it was intended to measure the moisture contents on the surface of wood using NIR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analytic statistical techniques. Because NIR spectroscopy is affected by the chemical components of the specimens and contains signal noise, a regression model for detecting moisture content of wood was established after carrying out several numerical pretreatments such as Smoothing, Derivative and Normalization in this study. It shows that the regression model using NIR absorbance in the range of 750~2,500 nm predicts the actual surface moisture content very well. Near-infrared spectroscopy technique developed in this study is expected to improve a technology to control moisture content of wood in using and drying process.

Effect of End-coating Around Pith of Heavy Timbers of Red Pine and Korean Pine on High-temperature and Low-humidity Drying Characteristics*

This study was performed to identify the effect of end-coating around pith of heavy timbers of Red pine and Korean pine on high temperature and low humidity drying characteristics. Total

Effect of Reserve Air-Drying of Korean Pine Heavy Timbers on High-temperature and Low-humidity Drying Characteristics

The pre-air-drying of Korean pine before the high-temperature and low-humidity drying was shown to be effective in uniform moisture content distribution and prevention of surface check. Our results suggest that initial moisture content of the timber also plays important role in high-temperature and low-humidity drying method. The pre-air-drying also helps in the reduction of surface checks in Korean pine when compared to the Korean pine dried by only high-temperature and low-humidity. End-coating was not effective in the prevention of twist, shrinkage, case hardening and internal checks. The pre-air-drying reduces the internal tension stresses which occur during high-temperature and low-humidity drying thus decreasing case hardening and also preventing internal checks. The pre-air-drying decreases the moisture content and causes shrinkage which leads to increased twist in the Korean pine.

The shrinkage properties of red pine wood assessed by image analysis and near-infrared spectroscopy

ABSTRACT This work focused on the shrinkage and drying stress of red pine (Pinus densiflora) wood during kiln drying and investigated transverse shrinkage and moisture changes in thin specimens using digital image analysis and near-infrared spectroscopy, respectively. The effect of specimen thickness, which ranged from 1 to 10 mm on shrinkage, was analyzed under drying conditions with restrained stresses. The shrinkage due to moisture content was presented in the form of an exponential function and a linear function above and below the fiber saturation point, respectively. A shorter existence of the moisture gradient increased the transverse shrinkage. The tangential and radial shrinkage at the tissue level in 30-µm (longitudinal) thick slices was measured and compared with the shrinkage of above specimens with difference thicknesses. The transverse shrinkage of 1-mm-thick specimen is similar to the shrinkage measured using 30-µm-thick slice.