Water content measurement in tree wood using a continuous linear heating technique

This paper deals with the analytical and experimental analysis of heat transfer in the xylem of trees and the determination of stem water content (WC). The aim of this paper was to derive and verify a new approach to WC calculation from measured temperature differences around a continuously heated needle. The configuration of heater and thermocouples of the heat field deformation (HFD) method for sap flow measurements was taken for this purpose. The suggested formula is derived from the heat conduction equation with a continuous linear source of heating. The ability of the HFD method to non-destructively determine the radial distribution of the local conditions of sap flow measurements under zero flow (referred to as K-value) was used to derive the radial distribution of WC. Examples of the application of our method on several contrasting species with different plant hydraulic architecture are given where calculated WC along stem xylem radius was compared with its direct gravimetrical measurements or with relative determination of wetness of cross-sectional stem discs using a modified differential translucence method. The proposed method enables water content measurements during continuous linear heating and is important for information about WC and sap flow together per day or season when there is possible to extrapolate the temperature difference for zero flow condition. (C) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.