Regression modelling of two-dimensional internal temperature and gas pressure distributions during panel hot-pressing

Abstract

Fitting a suitable regression model to often scattered experimental temperature and pressure data can aid in visualising and detecting underlying trends and behaviour. This paper presents the derivation of an empirical two-dimensional regression model for fitting to lateral temperature and gas pressure gradients during wood-composite panel hot-pressing. The regression model yielded a good fit of the spread of experimental measurements of internal temperature and gas pressure distributions during single layer oriented-strandboard hot-pressing, and provided an accurate fit to theoretical temperature and gas pressure distributions from a hot-pressing heat and mass transfer model. The regression model’s form and shape thus reflect a valid approximation of theoretical two-dimensional temperature and pressure distributions during hot-pressing, and give the regression an advantage over other general non-linear regressions. In addition to wood-composite hot-pressing, the regression model may have further applications in other similar processes of heating, drying or hot-pressing of rectangular materials.