CT WOOD
CT WOOD is a research program that focusses on the digitalization of the wood industry and builds on the existing research on X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning of wood. The CT WOOD program aims to optimize the use of raw material from the forest that can be used to make high-quality wood products. A focus on applied research in close collaboration with industry, provides innovative scientific solutions to issues affecting both the forest and wood industry.
Partners
The CT WOOD project is an initiative between Luleå University of Technology, the Kempe Foundation, Swedish Wood and Skellefteå Municipality. The program covers several projects, which can be divided into four different research areas, namely measurement techniques for wood, cutting techniques for wood, wood physics, and material development using wood.
Steering group:
- Magnus Fredriksson
- José Couceiro
- Johan Oja
- Mikael Svensson
Project
Current projects
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More efficient drying
Convective drying of timber as seen in Swedish sawmills never strictly follows the recommended schedules given by simulation programs. Specially for thicker board dimensions, the empirical adjustments diverge considerably in terms of temperature, relative humidity, and time. These modifications allo...
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State of the art in high temperature drying and vacuum drying
The most usual method of drying timber in Scandinavia is convection kiln drying at temperatures around 70 oC. The research around wood drying took off in Sweden during the 80’s and 90’s, causing a substantial development in techniques and infrastructure. In that context, high temperature drying neve...
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Modelling of moisture flow, stress, and distortion of sawn timber
Swedish sawmills dry sawn timber considerably quicker than predicted by available industrial drying model using shorter empirically customized drying schedules without comprising the timber’s quality. The quicker process leads to less energy consumption, fewer costs, and a more sustainable drying in...
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Improved knot detection for CT using AI
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CT based modelling to predict the strength of timber before sawing
Current strength grading technologies used in sawmills only exploit a small fraction of the potential strength of sawn timber. The adoption of X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanners in some sawmills have made it possible to measure the inner structure of logs to optimise sawing. The abundant data g...
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Use of CT scanning to classify the sawability of wood
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Forest hooligans: deformation-free wood products
There are several different methods and machines used to sort logs, sawn timber, or by-products such that in the end the right material is delivered to the right customer. Automatic sawmills must use equipment that can perform a quick and accurate assessment of the appearance quality or strength gra...
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Development of measurement techniques using CT scanners
CT WOOD's computed tomography scanners and the equipment supporting the CT-scanners, such as a custom-made kiln and climate chamber, are the core of the research activities at the division of Wood Science and Technology in Skellefteå.
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Neutron and X-ray imaging for basic studies of moisture transport in wood and wood-based products
The aim of this CT WOOD project is to build up basic knowledge about how neutron and X-ray radiation in combination can be used to study wood-moisture interactions and moisture flow in wood and wood-based materials.