Identifying Efficient Transport Pathways in Early-Wood Timber: Insights from 3D X-ray CT Imaging of Softwood in the Presence of Flow

Wider use of timber has the potential to greatly reduce the embodied carbon of construction. Improved chemical treatment could help overcome some of the barriers to wider application of timber, by furthering the durability and/or mechanical properties of this natural material. Improving timber treat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transport in porous media 2021-02, Vol.136 (3), p.813-830
Main Authors: Burridge, H. C., Pini, R., Shah, S. M. K., Reynolds, T. P. S., Wu, G., Shah, D. U., Scherman, O. A., Ramage, M. H., Linden, P. F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemical treatment
Civil Engineering
Classical and Continuum Physics
Computational fluid dynamics
Computed tomography
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Fluid flow
Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences
Hydrogeology
Hydrology/Water Resources
Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering
Kilns
Mechanical properties
Three dimensional analysis
X ray imagery
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Summary:Wider use of timber has the potential to greatly reduce the embodied carbon of construction. Improved chemical treatment could help overcome some of the barriers to wider application of timber, by furthering the durability and/or mechanical properties of this natural material. Improving timber treatment by treating the whole volume of a piece of timber, or tailored sections thereof, requires sound understanding and validated modelling of the natural paths for fluid flow through wood. In this study we carry out a robust analysis of three-dimensional X-ray CT measurements on kiln-dried softwood in the presence of flow and identify small portions of early-wood which are uniquely capable of transporting fluids—herein ‘efficient transport pathways’. We successfully model the effects of these pathways on the liquid uptake by timber by introducing a spatial variability in the amount of aspiration of the bordered pits following kiln drying. The model demonstrates that fluid advances along these efficient transport paths between 10 and 30 times faster than in the remainder of the timber. Identifying these efficient transport pathways offers scope to improve and extend the degree to which timber properties are enhanced at an industrial scale through processes to impregnate timber.
ISSN:0169-3913
1573-1634
DOI:10.1007/s11242-020-01540-8