Summary

A model of wood drying under isothermal conditions taking into consideration coating of the surface of a specimen is presented in this paper in a two-dimensional formulation. The influence of the surface coating degree as well as geometrical shape of a wood specimen on the dynamics of drying is investigated. Exponentials, describing the dependence of the halfdrying time on the degree of coating of the edges, as well as on the ratio of the width to the thickness of the transverse section of specimens from the northern red oak (Quercus rubra), are presented for drying from above the fiber saturation point. This paper describes the conditions of usage of the two-dimensional moisture transfer model in contrast to the one-dimensional model for accurate prediction of the drying process taking into consideration the coating of edges of specimens having a rectangular transverse section. A measure of reliability of the one-dimensional model to predict the wood drying process of sawn boards is introduced in this paper.