Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Malta, 16-18 July, 2012.
Wood heat treatment at high temperatures (in the range
of 180–240°C) is an ecological alternative to the chemical
treatment of wood for its preservation. Thermal treatment
provides dimensional stability and biological durability to wood
due its structural changes. The dark color attained also gives the
wood an aesthetic appearance. Various mathematical models
have been developed for wood heat-treatment furnaces.
In this article, two models, 1D and 3D, will be described.
They have been used to simulate the furnace behaviour for a
number of wood species, and parametric studies have been
carried out to determine the impact of various factors. Some of
the results of the calculations with the two models will be
presented. They will be compared and the applicability and
limitations of the 1D approach will be discussed.
