• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.1-8
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• 1998

Western redcedar timber, 26 by 26cm in cross section and by 200cm long, was dried in a laboratory radio-frequency/vacuum kiln under 65torr of ambient pressure and a fixed frequency of 6.78MHz for the potential rapidly dry large timber. All process data were collected and saved in a computer through a data acquisition system. The temperature in the middle of timber was higher than temperature at the quarter point of timber length and thickness. Temperature gradients developed in the longitudinal and transverse direction of timber. The pressure in the middle of timber was higher than pressure at the quarter point of timber length. The pressure in the middle of timber was lower in the early stage of drying, and higher in the latter stage of drying than pressure at the quarter point of timber thickness. Power density was very highest during heating period and then gradually decreased. The drying curve was approximately linear and the total drying time was 27 hours from an initial moisture content(MC) of 48.6 percent to a final Me of 19.2 percent with only a few mild internal checks in the middle location of timber.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2006

Three-dimensional distribution and variation of moisture content of boxed-heart square timber of Pinus densiflora was investigated to find the safe and rapid drying methods. As results, microwave-drying method could dry the boxed-heart square timber with sectional dimension of $150{\times}150mm$ under 10% moisture content (MC) within 72 hours with less surface checks, compared with hot-air drying. In case of microwave drying, the MC distribution during drying had a close relation with the initial MC distribution. In case of hot air drying, however, it was independent on the intial one except for the intial drying stage.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.108-114
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• 2002

Red pine(Pinus densiflora) square timbers with 14.0 cm and 16.5 cm of face size and 24 m long were dried in a vacuum-press kiln and in a radio-frequency/vacuum(RF/V) kiln to compare drying rate, moisture content(MC) distribution and specific energy. RF/V drying rate was higher than vacuum-press drying rate. The effect of size of cross section on the RF/V drying rates were more pronounced than those of vacuum-press drying. The longitudinal- and the transverse MC distribution of dried square timber showed convex profile for the vacuum-press drying and concave profile for the RF/V drying. Moisture gradient of width direction was similar to the thickness direction in vacuum-press dried square timber and was more slight than that of the thickness direction in the RF/V dried large square timber. The specific energy consumption curve increased as MC decreased. Specific energy(kWh/kg of water evaporated) of the vacuum-press process required more than that of the RF/V process.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.493-508
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• 2023

Round timber materials of 600 mm length, cut from large-cross-section round timber of red pine (Pinus densiflora S. et Z.) of 450 mm width and 4.2 m length, were prepared as the target of kiln drying in this study. After treating the target materials through end sealing (ES), end sealing - kerfing (ES-K), lateral sealing - end sealing - boring (LS-ES-B), or lateral sealing - partial end sealing (LS-PES), the effects of the treatment on the incidence of drying defects were determined. The target materials with exposed lateral surface and sealed cross surface were steamed at the initial temperature of 65℃ above the official pest control temperature of 56℃, followed by kiln drying toward the final temperature of 75℃. The target materials with sealed lateral surfaces, on the other hand, were dried at the initial temperature of 90℃ at almost the maximum temperature of conventional kiln drying, as there is no risk of early check formation caused by surface moisture evaporation. The final temperature was set at approximately 100℃. The drying time, taken for the target materials with initial moisture content of 70%-80% to reach the target moisture content of 19%, varied across treatment conditions. The measured drying time was 1,146 hours (approximately 48 days) for the timber with sealed cross surface and 745 hours (approximately 31 days) for the timber with sealed lateral surface, until the moisture content reached the target level. The formation of surface checks could not be prevented in the control and ES groups, but a definite preventive effect was obtained for the LS-ES-B and LS-PES groups.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.726-735
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• 2016

This study was carried out to evaluate the high-temperature drying characteristics of douglas-fir, hemlock, and radiata pine square timber with dimensions of thickness 15 cm and 18 cm. As a result, radiata pine showed the lowest final moisture content followed by douglas-fir and hemlock without reference to the timber size. Moreover, when the longitudinal kerfing is processed, the final moisture content was lower than control. The kerfing treatment was effective to decreasing the twist of radiata pine and hemlock. When douglas-fir is processed to the shape like the edge-grained timber that does not include the pith, the decrease of drying defect was possible.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.121-135
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• 2020

This study aims to evaluate applicability for the continuous drying process using saturated and superheated steam for large-square timber. During drying of the boxed heart square timber, changes in moisture content were examined through the slices of the surface, inner and core layers. The results showed that there was a large moisture content difference between the surface and inner layers during saturated steam drying and between the inner and core layers during superheated steam drying. However, despite the moisture content difference between the layers, no surface check occurred, and an internal check occurred only near the pith or juvenile parts of the wood. The maximum value of the drying stress of the dried larch boxed heart square timber, calculated from the elastic strain of the slice and the tangential elastic modulus of the larch, was 1.30 MPa. The tangential tensile strength of the larch was estimated at 5.21 MPa under temperature and moisture content conditions when drying stress was at a maximum. That is, in the continuous drying process, the saturated and superheated steam did not generate a check in the surface because the drying stress of the wood did not exceed the tangential tensile strength. In further studies, the superheated steam drying conditions will need to be relaxed to suppress the occurrence of internal checks. Such studies would make the continuous drying process using saturated and superheated steam available for the drying of large-square timber.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.677-684
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• 2016

This study was carried out to confirm the effects of the knife-incising and longitudinal kerfing treatment on high-temperature drying characteristics of red pine square timber with dimensions of thickness 15 cm. The range of final moisture content was investigated 5.6% to 7.5% after drying. The differences did not exist in the moisture content and distribution according to the pretreatment condition. In the case of longitudinal kerfing treatment, the surface check occurrence was reduced than the control. In addition, the twist had a tendency to decrease due to the longitudinal kerfing treatment. The knife-incising and longitudinal kerfing treatment were investigated to be ineffective on internal checks and drying shrinkage.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.762-771
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• 2017

Predicting the amount and distribution of moisture content within wood allows calculating the various mechanical dynamics of the wood as well as determining the drying time. For boxed-heart wood with a large cross-section, since it is difficult to measure the moisture content of the interior, it is necessary to predict the moisture content distribution. This study predicted the moisture movement in boxed-heart red pine timber, during high temperature drying, by using the three-dimensional finite difference method for the efficient drying process. During drying for 72 h, the predicted and actual moisture content of the tested wood tended to decrease at a similar rate. In contrast, the actual moisture content at 196 and 240 h was lower than predicted because surface checking of the wood occurred from 72 h and excessive water emission was unexpectedly occurred from the checked and splitted surface.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.18-26
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• 2004

Timbers of 14 by 14 cm, 2.4 m long, were dried in a vacuum kiln to investigate vacuum drying characteristics using three types of heating methods, conduction heating with hot plate, the radio frequency (RF) heating and the combination of both (hybrid heating). Average drying rate is the highest for the hybrid heating and the lowest for the RF heating. Average specific energy is the highest for the RF heating and the lowest for conduction heating. Transverse moisture content distribution of dried timber revealed the convex profile for both conduction and the hybrid heating and moisture content increased from one face to the opposite face for the RF heating. Moisture content distribution along the length of timber increased from the end to the middle of timber length for conduction and the hybrid heating and decreased from the end to the middle of timber length for the RF heating. End- and surface checks for conduction heating were severer than the other heating methods. No internal check occurred in any heating methods. Drying characteristics of conduction heating showed in-between trend of the RF and the hybrid heating.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.27-31
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• 2003

This paper presents the results of air-drying processes and mositure content (MC) distribution of red pine (P. densiflora) and Japanese larch (L. leptolepis) square timber with 14 cm and 16.5 cm of face size, respectively. The air-drying rates of square timber were comparatively high during the first 8 weeks, after that gradually decreased. The time to air dry square timber from initial MC to specified MC of 18 percent required about 26 weeks for 14.0 cm and 32 weeks for 16.5 cm square of red pine, and 32 weeks for 14.0 cm and 48 weeks for 16.5 cm square of Japanese larch. The longitudinal- and transverse MC distribution of these air-dried squares showed slight moisture gradient. The effect of face size on moisture gradient of Japanese larch square was more pronounced comparing with red pine one.