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r
(k
g
k
rad
)
(4b)
where r is the porosity, k
berP
is the thermal conductivity of the cell wall substance/
bers along the grain, k
ber^
is the corresponding conductivity perpendicular to
the grain, and k
g
is the gas (air) conductivity. The radiative thermal conductivity
k
rad
at the considered temperatures is very small and can be neglected.
A plot of the effective thermal conductivity (k
eff
) for various values of the
bridge-factor is shown in Fig. 2. This plot was generated by applying Eq. (4) and
using k
g
= 0.0258 W/m C for dry air, k
berP
= 0.766 W/m C and k
ber^
=
0.430 W/m C for the wood bers at a density of 1500 kg/m
3
. The values of k
berP
and k
ber^
have been used by Grnli (1996) and were taken from mean values at
room temperature reported by Maku (1954) and by Siau (1984).
Our data in the longitudinal direction at 20 C lie in the range n = 0.81.0 and
at 100 C between n = 0.9 and slightly above n = 1.0. The data in the trans-
verse direction at 20 C are in the range n = 0.50.7 and at 100 C between
n = 0.6 and n = 0.9.
At 20 C, our values for both directions are in agreement with literature
data. Grnli (1996) obtained n in the range from 0.8 to 1.0 for the longitudinal
Fig. 2. Effective thermal conductivity according to Eq. (4) for different n values as a
function of density and/or porosity (upper axis). The symbols of the data points are the
same as the corresponding ones in Fig. 1
471
direction and in the range from 0.35 to 0.6 for the transverse direction. Kollmann
and Cote (1968) found n = 1 for the longitudinal direction and n = 0.58 for
the transverse direction.
At 100 C, our values are slightly higher than the range predicted by the
model at 20 C. A comparison at 100 C was not possible since k
berP
and k
ber^
are not known at this temperature. However, according to this model, at 100 C
neither an increase in gas phase conductivity nor the radiative conductivity can
explain the net increase in the effective conductivity. This measured increase in
k
eff
is most likely due to the increase in the conductivities (i.e. k
berP
, k
ber^
) of
the cell wall substance. Therefore, the model is expected to give slightly higher
values of k
eff
if the conductivities (k
berP
, k
ber^
) of the cell wall substance
increase as the temperature increases. Furthermore, the model indicates an in-
crease in effective conductivity as the density/porosity increases/decreases which
agrees with our investigation regarding the inuence of microstructure on heat
conduction in wood.
It should be noted that there are some constraints imposed upon using this
model, such as a limited number of samples, using mean values for k
berP
and
k
ber^
and limiting the analysis to room temperature data. Such constraints
may introduce a degree of uncertainty in the conclusions. However, there is a
tendency towards good agreement between the measured and calculated thermal
conductivities. Furthermore, in this attempt of comparison, we have applied
this model for these six samples, just to examine the possibilities of determin-
ing the bounds for estimating the effective thermal conductivity.
5. Thermal diffusion in wood
The thermal diffusivity is a third important physical parameter that expresses the
response of the medium to a thermal perturbation. Therefore, measurements of
this parameter may reveal the dynamics behind the various conduction mecha-
nisms and the effect of microstructure on heat conduction in wood. The few
reports published on thermal diffusivity of wood have been described in details
in the review by Steinhagen (1977). Our data are higher than these reported data.
This might be related to the measuring conditions of our samples, since they
were completely dry (both free and bound water were released). The data re-
ported by Steinhagen were measured on green volume basis, and an adjustment
factor is needed to compensate the difference in moisture content and density of
the samples. To match the conditions of our samples, a larger value of the
adjustment factor is needed for these reported data. In such case, the comparison
between these data and those of the present investigation would show good
agreement.
The relation between diffusivity and heat conduction is expressed by three
parameters, thermal conductivity (k), thermal diffusivity (j) and specic heat (c)
which are related through j = k/qc, where q is the density. Since, in this case,
density and specic heat may be considered as direction-independent (isotropic)
properties, one would expect the isotropic dependence of the thermal diffusivity
to follow the same proportionality as that of thermal conductivity. However, this
type of proportionality is not manifested by the present measurements.
Finally, it should be pointed out that, due to the inherent variability of wood, a
larger number of measurements may be needed to reveal the relation between
density, porosity and anisotropy and their effects on thermal conduction. How-
ever, the present measurements show a degree of correlation between these
factors and their inuence on heat transfer in these species.
472
Conclusions
As the temperature increases from 20 to 100 C, the thermal conductivity slightly
increases in both longitudinal and transverse directions. The effect of density and
porosity on the thermal conductivity may be related to the presence of other
scattering mechanisms, such as voids and cell boundaries. It seems that porosity
(conduction through voids) is the dominant inuencing factor for the heat
conduction. By cutting the samples in a specied direction we can use the TPS
method to measure unidirectional thermal properties and detect a signicant
difference in the thermal conductivity between the longitudinal and the transverse
directions. Furthermore, the results are supported by prediction of the model
proposed by Kollmann and Cote (1968) in spite of the various assumptions
involved.
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