Drying Characteristics and Drying Schedules of Tropical Plantation Wood in China

Drying characteristics of 5 species of tropical plantation wood were studied by the100℃-test method. The results showed that almost every sample had some light end checks and thesamples of Eucalyptus citriodora and E. exserta were severer than the others in the end check.E. grandis × E. urophylla and Acacia mangium were the severest in internal checks, followed byE. grandis, E. exserta and E. citriodora. And E. grandis and E. grandis × E. urophylla were theseverest in cross-section deformation, followed by A. mangium, E. citriodora and E. exserta. All these5 species of tropical plantation wood were difficult to dry, so the mild drying schedules should beadopted and at the early stage the drying temperature should not be over 50 oC and the relative humidity(RH) should be high. Five drying schedules were gained through analyzing the drying characteristics ofthese tropical species after the 100℃- test.