Fibre Level Modelling of Free Water Behaviour during Wood Drying and Wetting♣

Most drying simulation models describe the moisture migration in wood as a diffusion process, including free water flow at contents greater than the fibre saturation point. This means that wood is seen as a homogeneous material lacking internal structure. However, especially in softwood narrow sections, bordered pits, divide the free water phase into rather distinct units. It is thus quite clear that the flow of free water is governed by capillary forces and not by diffusion. A model has been developed that investigates how water filled units are emptied one by one in a drying process. Simulations with the model explain some experimentally seen features that cannot be obtained using solely diffusion type models.