Proportional surface drying of small loblolly pine cubes at 120?C

While several permeability and drying studies have been performed, little experimental information is available on the flow of water in wood along its three orthogonal axes during high-temperature drying. Individual southern yellow pine sapwood cubes were coated on two of their three orthogonal faces (longitudinal, radial, and tangential) and the effect of this sealing on the drying rate was determined. The moisture (free water) movement/evaporation between the radial and tangential faces was practically but not statistically different, while the longitudinal rate was approximately three times faster. In commercial practice, the faster longitudinal rate is negated by the very small portion of transverse surface area relative to total lumber surface area. This partially explains why end checking and moisture variation in high-temperature-dried southern yellow pine lumber are not significant causes of degrade. The effect of season of processing was not statistically significant.

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