• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• 제16권4호
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• pp.10-39
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• 1988

This study investigated the temperatures and relative humidities in the semi-greenhouse type solar dryer with a black rock-bed heat storage and without heat storage and outdoor temperature and relative humidity at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.. A comparison was made of the drying rates, final moisture contents, moisture content distributions, casehardening stresses, drying defects, volumetric shrinkage of dried lumber for solar- and air-drying from the green condition of mixtures of Douglas-fir, lauan, taun, oak and sycamore 25mm- and 50 mm-thick lumber during the same period for four seasons, and heat efficiencies for solar dryer with and without the heat storage for saving of heat energy and the cost of lumber drying using the solar energy. The results from this study were summarized as follows: I. The mean weekly temperatures in the solar dryers were 3 to $6^{\circ}C$ at 9 a.m. and 9 to $13^{\circ}C$ at 2 p.m. higher than mean outdoor temperature during all the drying period. 2. The mean weekly relative humidities in the solar dryers were about 1 to 19% at 9 a.m. higher than the outdoor relative humidity. and the difference between indoor and outdoor relative humidity in the morning was greater than in the afternoon. 3. The temperatures and relative humidities in the solar dryer with and without the heat storage were nearly same. 4. The overall solar insolation during the spring months was highest and then was greater in the order of summer, atumm, and winter month. S. The initial rate of solar drying was more rapid than that of air drying. As moisture content decreased, solar drying rate became more rapid than that of air drying. The rates of solar drying with and without heat storage were nearly same. The drying rate of Douglas-fir was fastest and then faster in the order of sycamore, lauan, taun and oak. and the faster drying rate of species, the smaller differences of drying rates between thicknesses of lumber. The drying rates were fastest in the summer and slowest in the winter. The rates of solar drying during the spring were more slowly in the early stage and faster in the later stage than those during the autumn. 6. The final moisture contents were above 15% for 25mm-thick air dried and about 10% for solar dried lumber, but the mean final MCs for 50mm-thick lumber were much higher than those of thin lumber. The differences of final MC between upper and lower course of pile for solar drying were greater than those of pile for air drying. The differences of moisture content between the shell and the core of air dried lumbers were greater than those of solar dried lumber, smallest in the drying during summer and greatest in the drying during winter among seasons. 7. Casehardening stresses of 25mm- and 50mm-thick dried lumber were slight, casehardening stress of solar dried lumber was severer than that of air dried lumber and was similar between solar dried lumber with and without heat storage, Casehardening stresses of lumber dried during spring were slightest and then slighter in the order of summer, autumn, and winter. Casehardening stresses of Douglas -fir, sycamore and lauan were slight, comparing with those of taun and oak. 8. Maximum initial checks of 25mm-thick lumber occurred above and below fiber saturation point and those of 50mm-thick lumber occurred in the higher moisture content than thin lumber. As the moisture content decreased, most of checks were closed and didn't show distinct difference of the degree of checks among drying methods. The degree of checks were very slight in case of Douglas-fir and lauan, and severe in case of taun and oak. The degree of checks for 50mm-thick lumber were severer than those for 25mm-thick lumber. 9. The degree of warpage showed severe in case of oak and sycamore lumber, but no warping was found in case of Douglas-fir, lauan and taun. 10. The volumetric shrinkages of taun and oak were large and medium in case of Douglas-fir, lauan and sycamore. 11. Heat efficiencies of solar dryer with heat storage were 6.9% during spring, 7.7% during summer, 12.1% during autumn and 4.1% during winter season. Heat efficiency of solar dryer with heat storage was slightly greater than that of without heat storage. As moisture content of lumber decreased, heat efficiency decreased.