EFFECTS OF SAWING PATTERN ON LUMBER DRYING: MODEL SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION

ABSTRACT The sawing pattern of lumber affects the drying rate due to transverse permeability differences. These permeability differences are considered in a single board drying model which is able to investigate the drying rates for boards with varying growth ring angles. For the drying of Pinus radiata lumber, the model predicts that the quartersawn boards need longer drying time than the flatsawn boards. The drying time difference was 10–15% of the total drying time for conventional temperature (CT) drying and accelerated conventional temperature (ACT) drying, but was less significant for high temperature (HT) drying. In the simulation of a kiln stack drying, a sawing pattern factor was introduced to the relative drying rate function, which reflected the effects of the growth ring angle and the drying temperatures. The modified kiln wide drying model was used to predict the drying rates for a kiln stack consisting of entirely flatsawn boards and a kiln stack consisting of entirely quartersawn boards. Drying tests were conducted using stacks of mixed flatsawn and quartersawn Pinus radiata sapwood boards. In the tests, three drying schedules were used which included CT, ACT and HT drying. The experimental results agree closely with the model predictions and thus, after further validation, the drying models can be used to predict commercial kiln drying of boards with different sawing patterns.