Comparison of moisture distribution along radial direction in a log cross section of heartwood and mixed sapwood and heartwood during radio-frequency/vacuum drying

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the distribution of moisture contents (MCs) along the radial direction during radio-frequency/vacuum (RF/V) drying of log cross sections of heartwood (HLC) where sapwood was removed from a green log cross section and log cross section of mixed sapwood and heartwood (MLC) prepared with debarked logs of Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis) and locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). For Japanese larch, an even distribution of MC was observed over the entire cross section in HLC not only at the initial stage of drying but also up to the completion of drying. Furthermore, the moisture gradient between the outermost slice and the adjacent inner slice was more gradual compared with that in MLC. For locust, the moisture gradient between the outermost slice and the adjacent inner slice became severe as drying progressed. It decreased after reaching the maximum during the middle stage of drying but continued until the late stage of drying. Furthermore, despite the fact that the average initial MC of mixed slice within MLC was higher compared with that in heartwood slice, this trend reversed immediately after drying started. It was suggested that the possibility of formation of border checking would be high during drying the MLC, since it would be so complicate that the sapwood and heartwood reach fiber saturation point together because of differences in their green MCs and permeability between them.