Consultancy

With our expertise and experience built up during the last ten years in many projects with industry, we can help you with advices and individual solutions for many drying problems regarding kiln operations and timber quality.

Drying Schedules

Most drying schedules used in industry have been developed by trial and error over long periods of time. Kiln operators build up ''on the job'' experience to choose a reliable schedule for the required timber quality. Since they are working with valuable material, they avoid taking risks. Conservative drying schedules with relatively long drying times are the result. This procedure costs needless time and money!

We have a test kiln with a capacity of 2 m3 timber available in which we can develop and optimise drying schedules for conventional drying as well as steam drying.

This test kiln is located in Almelo in The Netherlands at the site of HB-Drying Systems.

With a number of drying tests (often 3 - 5) we can develop or optimise drying schedules adapted for your drying needs. With our computer simulation tool "WOODY" we can do the up-scaling of these drying schedules for application in your own industrial drying kiln.,

Kiln design and optimisation

A good drying schedule is no guarantee for a good drying result!

Non uniform air flow distribution in a partially filled convection kiln A well designed drying kiln is a key factor for your success. The drying conditions in your kiln must be uniform to achieve a uniform drying result. Besides the temperature and relative humidity, also the air flow distribution is important for the drying uniformity The air flow distribution does not only depend on the geometry of the kiln, but also on the stacking strategy. Especially in partly filled kilns, strong non-uniform air flows may occur. We have developed a number of simulation tools to design, analyse and optimise a drying kiln for your specific needs.