Drastic drying on Eucalyptus and Corymbia wood provides information to the dry kiln schedules elaboration

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate drastic drying of small pieces as  alternative method to define moisture content-temperature dry kiln schedules, to be applied on wood of Corymbia torelliana, Eucalyptus cloeziana, E. grandis x E. urophylla, E. pilularis and E. resinifera.  Moreover, it was aimed to evaluate the possibility to group different species with similar recommended conditions. It was used pieces with initial dimensions of 100 mm long, 50 mm wide and 10 mm thick, maintained in kiln at 100 °C until moisture content reached values below 5%. During this drastic drying the pieces were weighed every hour and length and width of cracks were measure with caliper and feeler gauges. Considering initial and final temperature and drying potential, it was observed one group that supports more severe drying conditions, formed by Corymbia torelliana and E. grandis x E. urophylla and another that demands conservative conditions formed by E. pilularis and E. cloeziana. E. resinifera wood can be dried at conditions defined to both groups.