Vacuum Drying of Wood with Radiative Heating: II. Comparison between Theory and Experiment

In part I of this work extensive experimental data sets for the vacuum drying of wood with radiative heating were presented for sapwood and heartwood of different species (Picea abies, Abies alba, and Fagus silvatica). These data sets are used here to validate two previously developed drying models. The first drying model, which is known as TransPore, is a comprehensive model able to capture the intricately coupled heat- and mass-transfer mechanisms that evolve throughout the drying process. The second model, which is known as Front_2D, uses a number of simplifying assumptions to reduce the complexity of the comprehensive model to a system that enables a semianalytical approach to be exploited for its solution. Although the first model provides a more accurate description of the entire process, the second model is able to produce representative solutions very efficiently in terms of overall computational times, making it a viable option for on-line control purposes. The comparison with experimental data highlights that both models are able to capture all of the observed trends, allowing them to be used with confidence for investigating the vacuum drying process at a fundamental level. The new contribution of this work lies in the fact that both models are used here for the first time to simulate drying at a reduced external pressure. © 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 50: 108–118, 2004

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