Experimental Heat Transfer, Vol.27, No.2, 160-179, 2014
MOISTURE MIGRATION IN WOOD UNDER HEATING MEASURED BY THERMAL NEUTRON RADIOGRAPHY
The article addresses the transport of moisture due to high-temperature gradients resulting from heating by means of thermal neutron radiography. Moisture migration due to heating is quantified along the orthotropic directions of two wood species, spruce and beech, with high spatial and moisture content resolution. As the heat wave is propagating into the wood, the moisture content in the heated zone rapidly decreases, and moisture is transported due to the high-temperature gradient ahead of the heated zone, resulting in a zone with higher moisture content. Both the drying and the moisture accumulation areas evolve non-uniformly, depending on wood microstructure and orientation.