The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of steam conditioning immediately after drying to reduce internal checking resulting from high-temperature drying of Pacific Coast hemlock lumber. Three different levels of conditioning time, 2, 4 and 6 hours, were carried out on 2 inches wide by 4 inches thick by 3 feet long (51 mm by 102 mm by 0.91 m) , and on 4 inches wide by 4 inches thick by 3 feet long (105 mm by 105 mm by 0.91 m), specimens. For comparison purposes, controls of both sizes of specimens were also high-temperature dried without conditioning. Analysis of the results indicated that internal checking was not significantly reduced by steam conditioning and was more likely to develop afterwards during storage at room temperature, and that total degrade observed in the "4x4" specimens was more excessive than that in the "2x4" ones. The defective "4x4" specimens were found over-dried (below the targeted 12% moisture content) with high core-shell moisture content differences. More internal checking was found when the specimens' final moisture content ranged from 7 to 8%. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

The fixed bed drying of western hemlock and Douglas-fir biomass particles at temperatures ranging from 50��C to 200��C and air velocities from 0.3 to 0.9 m/s was investigated. The objectives were to describe the drying characteristics of the particles, fit a model for thin-layer drying, and develop and test a deep bed drying model based on the thin-layer model. The effects of temperature and air velocity were determined in a bed approximately 1.3 cm in depth and a model for the drying curve was developed. The thin-layer model was then used to predict what would happen in a deeper bed. Model results were compared to drying curves measured in a 23-cm-deep bed. The deep bed model predicted both the experimental drying times and the moisture and temperature profiles in the bed. / Graduation date: 2013