• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.301-308
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• 2018

This study aimed to obtain basic climate information for effective moisture control in wood in Korea. Two independent climate indexes, namely drying index (DI) and wetting index (WI), were determined using hourly weather data for 82 locations recorded from 2009 to 2017. These data were collected from the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Hourly data had not been measured prior to 2009. DI and WI revealed that all regions were cold and wet except Baengnyeongdo, which was classified as a cold and dry region. DI and WI were normalized assuming that wetting and drying were equally important phenomena. Then, the normalized indexes were combined into moisture index (MI) to rank the moisture loading of the regions. The MIs showed that Seogwipo had the greatest moisture loading in Korea, followed by Seongsan, Namhae, and Geoje. The MIs suggested that Korea exhibited severe moisture loading. Further studies are required to investigate the relation between MI and moisture content on wood surfaces from a wood maintenance point of view.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.746-756
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• 2015

The goal of this study was to review the wood shrinkage published in Journal of The Korean Wood Science and Technology from 1976 to 2015. Previous studies reported that shrinkage from Larix kaempferi in the tangential, radial, longitudinal directions ranged from 4.21%-9.79%, 2.09%-4.67%, 0.17%-0.33%, respectively. When different drying methods including closed cylinder drying, oven drying, and room temperature drying were used, volumetric shrinkage of Dipterocarpus grandiflorus was different, ranging from 31.6% to 21.0%. With an increment of the drying temperature of $115^{\circ}C$, $120^{\circ}C$, $125^{\circ}C$, the shrinkage of Larix kaempferi did not show a consistent trend. When sample size of Pinus densiflora was increased from $20{\times}20{\times}20mm$ to $100{\times}100{\times}100mm$, the tangential, radial and volumetric shrinkage decreased 2.61%, 1.32%, 0.80%, respectively. When a caliper having a sensitivity of 0.01 mm was used to measure $20mm^3$ specimen from Cryptomeria japonica, the measurement error occurred 1.97% in the radial direction and 35.7% in the longitudinal direction. From the previous studies, wood shrinkage could be influenced by sample size, drying method and measurement technique.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.567-578
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• 2019

A common problem with fast-growing hardwoods is dimensional instability that limits use of their wood. In this study, we investigated the effects of pre-drying methods, temperatures, and heating duration on the specific gravity, water absorption, and dimensional stability of three tropical fast-growing hardwoods, jabon (Neolamarckia cadamba Roxb.), sengon (Falcataria moluccana Miq.), and mangium (Acacia mangium Willd.). Wood samples were pre-dried by two methods (fan and oven at $40^{\circ}C$), and heat treatments were performed at three temperatures (120, 150, and $180^{\circ}C$) for two different time periods (2 and 6 hours). The specific gravity, water absorption, dimensional stability, and structural changes of the samples were evaluated. The results revealed that heat treatments slightly reduced the specific gravity of all three wood species. In addition, the heat treatments reduced water absorption and significantly improved dimensional stability of the samples. Oven pre-drying followed by heat treatment at $180^{\circ}C$ for 6 hours resulted in good physical improvement of jabon and sengon wood. Fan pre-drying followed by heat treatment at $180^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours improved the physical properties of mangium wood. The heat treatment shows a promising technique for improving the physical characteristic of fast growing hardwoods.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.30-39
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• 1991

Internal moisture gradients of 3cm-thick radiata pine (Pinus radiata) sapwood and meranti(Shorea spp.) heartwood were determined by using slicing method during drying and were predicted by Hart's Sorption Simulation. The shapes of internal moisture gradients. moisture contents and drying rates, which were obtained by the slicing method. were compared with those predicted by Sorption Simulation. After the 2nd fitting attempts. the differences between the gravimetric drying rates and the drying rates predicted by Sorption Simulation were less than 0.021%/hr for radiata pine and 0.043%/hr for meranti. The shapes of the internal moisture gradients predicted by Sorption Simulation were in good agreement with those obtained by the slicing method. It could be concluded that Sorption Simulation be an excellent tool to predict internal moisture gradients of wood.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.25-32
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• 2001

A microwave vacuum (MW/V) dryer was developed for drying short roundwoods, from which woodcraft souvenirs in Korean market are mostly made, and which were hardly dried without defects in a conventional kiln. It consisted of three 1.5 kW magnetrons of 2,450 MHz, a vacuum pump, a load cell of 100 kg and a cavity of $580{\times}580{\times}1,360\;mm^3$. A computer program was developed to switch on or off the magnetrons according to drying schedules, those were based on microwave injection time or the average of wood temperatures. To evaluate the new MW/V dryer the roundwood specimens of rigida pine, poplar and birch were dried. Their log diameters and lengths ranged from 125 to 25 em and from 25 to 50 cm, respectively. In spite of the presence of minor drying defects, the MW/V drying is found to be an effective method for drying short roundwoods. Wooden turneries made of red alder and ash logs were also MW/V dried from green to 4%MC without any degradation. The rates of the MW/V drying were examined for three different lengths of poplar logs.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.349-356
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• 2009

Logs with average diameters of 20~30 cm were dried with microwave to investigate microwave drying characteristic of log and determine the optimal drying conditions. Microwave dryer with output of 20 kW was controlled with respect to the temperature of log during drying. Japanese red pine logs with average diameter of 281.9 mm were dried safely by microwave to below moisture content of 20% within 48 hours. Chinese toon logs showed serious surface checks during microwave drying. Higher drying rates were found with higher initial moisture content.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.401-408
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• 2021

Supplies of wood chips for fuel tend to increase owing to energy decentralization and new renewable energy policies. This study suggests a technical method that is necessary in order to supply heating energy to rural regions by using wood chips for fuel. Therefore, this study investigates the effects of natural drying methods for eight months by installing a drying facility with natural ventilation capable of loading 10 tons of wood chips, and which derive a natural drying method based on this to meet the quality standards of wood chips for fuel. The study results confirm that it is possible to produce wood chips for high-quality fuel with water content at 20% or less after around 90 days of drying, provided that a drying facility with natural ventilation is equipped with materials that can be procured easily in rural regions. It is also possible to block the proliferation and fermentation of molds that affect the quality of wood chips, provided that intake and exhaust systems adhering to standards are equipped.

• Journal of the Korea Furniture Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.294-299
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• 2008

Collapse is an abnormal shrinkage resulting in uneven, rough surfaces and/or warping of sawn timber. The maximum abnormal shrinkages of the oak and persimmon specimens were obtained by the quasi-equilibrium drying and were compared with the other drying methods. The effect of steaming and freezing treatments on the shrinkage of wood was also investigated. The Quasi-equilibrium drying used in this study was proved as a good tool to make the maximum abnormal shrinkage of wood. The maximum abnormal volumetric shrinkage possibly caused by collapse could be 16.3% and 14.3% for the oak and persimmon specimens, respectively. In general the steaming-treated specimens shrank less than the controls for the oak specimens, but did more for the persimmon specimens. The volumetric shrinkages of the freezing-treated specimens were more various between the drying methods than those of the control and steaming-treated specimens.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2024

Betung bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper) is used as a building and handicraft material in Indonesia; however, bamboo needs to be dried to increase its stability. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of drying bamboo using solar energy and different drying oven designs. The betung bamboo pieces were dried using a direct solar dryer (direct drying) and an indirect solar dryer (indirect drying) and then the decrease in levels that occurred based on the relative humidity (RH) and temperature values achieved in the two dryers were compared. The highest average temperature in the direct indirect drying oven compartment was 60.1 ± 13.1℃ with 19.9 ± 16.4% RH and 60.2 ± 11.9℃ with 19.5 ± 15.5% RH, respectively. The drying defect in indirect drying was lower than that in direct drying, and indirect drying had a 61.7% greater average water loss than direct drying with significant difference (95%, analysis of variance) based on water loss/compartment volume parameters. Thus, the solar drying oven can be used to air-dry bamboo (14%) for 7 d from an initial moisture content of 70%-80% in bamboo strips. The results of this research can be used for small-scale bamboo processing industries that have limited use of electrical energy with quite good results.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.16-24
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• 2001

Conventional hot-air oven-drying method takes at least four hours to determine the moisture content of wood sample and this method is not always acceptable to wood industry. In this study samples of six different specifications from Paulownia coreana, Pinus densiflora and Quercus acutissima were dried in domestic microwave oven to their oven dry weights to investigate the possibility of rapid moisture content determination technique using microwave-oven drying method. Continuous heating time, cooling time and intermittent heating time were determined by each species and sample specifications. Temperatures of surface and center of samples were also measured during drying. Oven-drying times were reduced to 1/7~1/10 of conventional hot-air oven-drying method. Therefore microwave heating and drying techniques appear attractive for wood industry as a rapid moisture content determination method.