Method for estimating air-drying times of lumber

Abstract

Published information on estimated air-drying times of lumber is of limited usefulness because it is restricted to a specific location or to the time of year the lumber is stacked for drying. At best, these estimates give a wide range of possible times over a broad range of possible locations and stacking dates. In this paper, we describe a method for estimating air-drying times for specific locations by optimizing a drying simulation using existing experimental air-drying times for northern red oak, sugar maple, American beech, yellow-poplar, ponderosa pine, and Douglas-fir. The results of the optimization are simulation parameters that make it possible to estimate the air-drying times of these species regardless of when they are stacked, in any location where average tem- perature and relative humidity are known, and for lumber of any thickness dried to any moisture content.

Citation

Simpson, William T.; Hart, C. Arthur. 2001. Method for estimating air-drying times of lumber. Forest products journal. Vol. 51, no. 11/12 (Nov./Dec. 2001).:p. 56-63 : ill.