Development of a simulation tool to enable optimisation of the energy consumption of the industrial timber-drying process

Reducing the liquid content of green products is an important step in the manufacture of many products. Process conditions in the drying phase have significant influences on the quality of the end product and on energy consumption and required manufacturing time. Effective optimisation of the drying process requires accurate representation of the drying product and its interaction with its environment. The development of a computer simulation tool to analyse the industrial batch timber drying process is outlined. A detailed finite difference product model describing the heat and mass transfers within a plank during drying is described. It is integrated with a customised CFD code characterising the process conditions within the drying chamber. Simulation output from the integrated model is used to generate a macroscopic representation of the product in its drying environment. This representation is included as a component in a modular industrial installation simulation environment. Analysis with this global model can lead to optimisation of energy consumption of the industrial timber drying process whilst maintaining product quality and acceptable drying duration.