Modeling of the Energy for Bound Water Freezing in Logs Subjected to Refrigeration

Abstract

This study suggests an approach for modeling of the total thermal energy needed for freezing the bound water in logs subjected to refrigeration. The approach maximally considers the physics of the freezing process of the bound water in wood. It considers the nonstationary change in the icing degree of logs formed by the crystallization of the bound water in them, as well as the influence of the fiber saturation point of each wood species on its current amount of nonfrozen bound water depending on temperatures below À1°C. Mathematical descriptions of the thermal energy of the phase transition of bound water in logs and also of the latent thermal energy of the bound water released in logs during their freezing have been executed. These descriptions were introduced in our own 2D nonlinear mathematical model of the freezing process of logs. The model was transformed in a form suitable for programming with the help of explicit schemes of the finite difference method. For the solution of the model and energy simulations with it, a software program was prepared, which was input into the calculation environment of Visual Fortran Professional.