MODELING WOOD MOISTURE SORPTION HYSTERESIS BASED ON SIMILARITY HYPOTHESIS - PART 1 - DIRECT APPROACH

A similarity-hypothesis approach to modeling sorption hysteresis in po rous media has been applied to wood. The method, which uses the adsorp tion and desorption relative humidities directly as similarity stateme nt parameters, is simpler than previously reported techniques based on the independent-domains theory since only the boundary curves of the main hysteresis loop are required in order to generate the scanning cu rves at a given temperature. A comparison of the predicted scanning cu rves with actual experimental data for yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tul ipifera) indicates that the approach is highly reliable, with predicte d values within 0.01 to 1.05 of the actual equilibrium moisture conten t of the samples at different relative humidity levels.