Improvement of a radio-frequency/vacuum drying ability and physical properties of Iroko Lumber

Iroko재(材)의 고주파진공건조성 및 물리적 성질 개선

This study was carried out to investigate a radio-frequency/vacuum (RF/V) drying ability and physical properties of the green boards and the pre-kiln dried boards with 40 mm thickness, and the 70 mm-thick green board of Iroko (Milicia excelsa). The major results were summarized as follows; The drying time from initial moisture content (MC) of 110% to approximate 6% MC for a 40mm-thick green board was 192 hours, and about 200 hours for the 70 mm-thick green board, respectively and so the RF/V drying times were dramatically shortened compared to conventional kiln drying time. The case hardenings at the RF/V drying completion stage test were very negligible, thus represented almost no existence of the residual stress. The checks were very slightly formed on all of the boards during the RF/V drying test, but crook appeared quite severely. During the accelerating test, the water-resistant treated specimens had not experienced any signs of checking occurred, whereas the control boards had encountered very frequent occurrences of end checking and slight surface checking. There were no observations of warping and discoloring regardless of the treatment.