Abstract
An experimental study of the conjugate heat and mass transfer during the vacuum contact drying of softwood is described. The experimental results show that the drying rate is increased by means of a convective movement induced by a total pressure gradient in the gaseous phase at high free moisture content. An analysis of temperature and moisture distributions distinguishes three stages during drying (excluding the thermal transient regime): 1st stage: the wood temperature does not change in time but the drying rate decreases continuously. 2nd stage: the wood temperature increases quickly. 3rd stage: the moisture equilibrium is reached asymptotically. The previous results suggest a moisture migration mechanism for softwood drying.
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