Expedited Award: Laser Incising for Improved Lumber Drying and Chemical Treatment

技术总结：该探索性项目建议开发一种新技术，该技术将增加木材的有效渗透性，以改进干燥和化学处理。这一过程涉及一个高能脉冲激光系统，它将在绿色木材的切向和径向表面产生非常小的孔。这个过程被称为激光切割。主要目的是：1)为150连续瓦特的二氧化碳激光器建立一组操作参数，以便精确地产生直径和深度受控的切割，2)比较切割木材和未切割木材的干燥速度，3)比较切割的干燥木材和未切割的干燥木材的质量，以及4)评估激光切割技术在商业过程中的潜力。创新/新颖性：这项提议是创新的，因为激光技术在木材二次加工中的独特应用。到目前为止，用激光加工木材仅限于切割作业，由于切割速度慢，经济可行性一直微乎其微。由于激光切割只涉及去除少量的木材物质，因此可能会有更高的加工率。与传统的切割工艺相比，激光切割不太可能降低强度性能或大大降低表面外观。如果在干燥绿色木材之前进行切割，这是一项尚未考虑的技术，那么可能会提高干燥速度和改善木材质量。

Technical Summary: This exploratory project proposes to develop a novel technique that will increase the effective permeability of wood for improved drying and chemical treatment. The process involves a high-energy pulsed-laser system that will generate very small holes in the tangential and radial surfaces of green lumber. This process is referred to as laser incising. The primary objectives are: 1) Establish a set of operating parameters for a 150 continuous-watt CO2 laser in order to precisely generate incisions of controlled diameter and depth, 2) Compare the drying rate of incised lumber to non-incised lumber, 3) Compare the quality of dried lumber which has been incised with dried lumber that has not been incised, and 4) Evaluate the potential of the laser incising technique for a commercial process. Innovation/Novelty: This proposal is innovative because of the unique application of laser technology to secondary wood processing. To date, processing wood with a laser has been limited to cutting operations, in which the economic feasibility has been marginal due to slow cutting speeds. Since laser incising involves the removal of only a small amount of wood substance, much higher processing rates are possible. In contrast to conventional incising processes, laser incising would not likely reduce strength properties or greatly reduce the surface appearance. If incising is performed prior to drying green lumber, a technique that has not been considered, then increased drying rates and improved lumber quality may result.