Computational modelling of heat and mass transfer during the high-temperature heat treatment of wood

During the heat treatment process, the heat and mass transfer takes place between the solid and the drying medium, and the moisture evaporation occurs within the solid due to the capillarity action and diffusion. In the current work, the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations along with the energy and concentration equations for the fluid coupled with the energy and mass conservation equations for the solid (wood) are solved to study the conjugate heat treatment behaviour. Whitaker’s continuum approach has been used to obtain the equations for the liquid and vapour migration within the solid. Three moisture phases are accounted for: free water, bound water, and water vapour. The model equations are solved numerically by the commercial package FEMLAB for the temperature and moisture content histories under different treatment conditions. The model validation is carried out via a comparison between the predicted values with those obtained experimentally. The comparison of the numerical and experimental results shows good agreement, implying that the proposed numerical algorithm can be used as a useful tool in designing high-temperature wood treatment processes.