Microwave drying of wood, mathematical simulation of rotating lumber in the SHF field

Abstract

Lumber drying is one of the most important and integral operations in the woodworking processes, that largely determines the finished products quality and competitiveness. As a result of drying, wood is transformed from a natural raw material into an industrial environmentally friendly material meeting the various requirements in different industrial or domestic applications. The issues of high-quality and high-speed wood drying using the energy of an ultra-high frequency electromagnetic field have not been studied in depth, which complicates the practical use of this drying method. This applies to ensuring a uniform volumetric SHF heating and the required quality of wooden beams and planks. The paper suggests a mathematical simulation for drying lumber by rotating it in the SHF field in a process plant with a discrete arrangement of magnetrons. The mathematical simulation is implemented in the object-visual simulation environment of MatLab (Simulink). We studied 4 operating modes of the process plant. Based on the research, we developed a computer software for simulating SHF lumber drying in various modes. The ability to choose between SHF lumber drying modes reduces the lumber processing energy costs. The results of this study can be applied in the woodworking industry for SHF drying of various types of wood.