Intermittent and Continuous Drying of Red Beech Timber From the Green Condition

A. Herritscha, J. Dronfieldb & J. J. Nijdama* a Department of Chemical and Process Engineering , University of Canterbury , Christchurch , New Zealand b Forever Beech Ltd. , Hokitika , New Zealand * Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Room 461, Christchurch , New Zealand E-mail: Justin.nijdam@canterbury.ac.nz Intermittent and continuous schedules for drying New Zealand's indigenous red beech timber (Nothofagus fusca) from the green condition have been compared. Both schedules can be used to dry red beech with good timber quality. Continuous schedules are appropriate for use in conventional kilns, where better humidity control can be used to minimize timber degrade and equalize moisture contents. Intermittent schedules can be adapted for use in dehumidifiers, where the lower achievable humidities—often a result of poor insulation and air leakages—can be compensated for by the relaxation periods, when the fans and heaters are switched off intermittently to relieve drying-induced stresses. However, equalization cannot be easily applied in a dehumidifier. In this case, a presort of the green timber into two classes—a heartwood heavy class and a mixed heartwood light and sapwood class—would then prove beneficial to address the issue of significant timber property and green moisture content variations that occur in red beech timber.