A SMOOTH DIFFUSION RATE MODEL OF WOOD DRYING:A SIMULATION TOWARD MORE EFFICIENT PROCESS IN INDUSTRY

Edi Cahyono (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Department of Mathematics, Universitas Haluoleo)
Yudi Soeharyadi (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung)
Mukhsar Mukhsar (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Department of Mathematics, Universitas Haluoleo)

Jurnal Teknik Industri: Jurnal Keilmuan dan Aplikasi Teknik Industri
Vol. 10 No. 1 (2008): JUNE 2008

In this paper we consider modeling of wood drying process in an industry. The process is conducted in a kiln oven. Mathematically, the drying inside the wood is considered as an initial and boundary value problem. The model is a diffusion equation where the diffusion rate depends on the moisture content of the wood. We investigate a smooth diffusion rate and we compare the model with real data from an industry. The model shows a good agreement with the real data. Moreover, the model shows a smoother process of drying, which is more desirable by the timber and lumber industries to improve their current methods of drying.