Course title: BASICS OF WOOD PROCESSING AND CUTTING TOOLS

Semester / Year of study: semester II / IIIrd year of study

Course status: compulsory

Objectives:
        - Gaining knowledge on the technology of metallic materials used for the construction of wood-
        processing tools.
        - Gaining knowledge on the construction and exploitation of wood cutting tools.

Contents:
        The course comprises the following chapters:
        - Study of metallic materials, which are used in the construction of cutting tools.
        - General information on wood processing;
        - Wood cutting with circular saw blades. Construction and exploitation of circular saw blades.
        - Wood cutting with frame saw blades and band saw blades. Construction and exploitation of frame
        saw blades and band saw blades;
        - Wood cutting by using plane irons (knives). Construction and exploitation of plane irons (knives).
        - Wood milling. Construction and exploitation of milling cutters.
        - Wood drilling and wood sanding. Construction and exploitation of drills and abrasive tools.

        The practical laboratory works complete the lectured material. They refer to the following topics:
        1. Steel brands used for the construction of wood-cutting tools.
        2. Construction, sharpening and maintenance of circular saw blades.
        3. Construction, sharpening and maintenance of frame saw blades.
        4. Construction, sharpening and maintenance of band saw blades.
        5. Construction, sharpening and maintenance of plane irons (knives).
        6. Construction, sharpening and maintenance of milling cutters.
        7. Construction, sharpening and maintenance of drills.
        8. Construction and maintenance of abrasive tools.

History:
        The subject began to be taught in 1960 by Prof.dr.eng. Ioan FLORESCU and until 1969 it was entitled "Tools and Devices".
        Between 1968 - 2005 the subject was taken over by Prof.dr.eng. Victor DOGARU. He significantly enriched the bibliographic basis of the discipline, by publishing over 8 books which serve until today as reference materials for students, PhD-students and specialists from industry. During this period, the name of the discipline changed several times, first into "Tools, Jigs and Checking Devices", then "Basics of Mechanical Wood Processing" and "Wood Cutting and Cutting Tools".
        After 2005, the discipline was taken over by Prof.dr.eng. Loredana BADESCU and Assoc.Prof.dr.eng. Wilhelm LAURENZI, and starting with 2008 by Prof.dr.eng. Loredana BADESCU at Wood Processing Engineering and Wood Engineering (WE) specialization - Ist semester, Assoc.Prof.dr.eng. Wilhelm LAURENZI at Engineering of Finite Wooden Products specialization and Lecturer dr.eng. Luminita-Maria BRENCI at Wood Processing Engineering specialization - IInd semester.

Present Head of Discipline:
- Lecturer dr.eng. Luminita-Maria BRENCI, graduate of the Faculty of Machine Technology Construction, class 1990.
- Title of PhD thesis: "Contributions to the Study of the Construction and Exploitation of Profile Cutters for Wood Industry", defended in December 2004 at the "Transilvania" University of Brasov.
Specialization courses: Nine post-graduate courses in the field of programming and computer-aided design.
- Foreign languages: English and Russian.

Perspectives and Opportunities:
The main development directions of this discipline envisage:
        - to enrich the material basis of the laboratory, by acquisitioning of state-of-the-art tools and modern
        measuring equipment;
        - to enrich the bibliographic basis of the discipline, by re-editing a guidebook for the laboratory works.

Course title: HEAT TREATMENTS OF WOOD

Semester / Year of study: semester I and II / IIIrd year of study

Status: compulsory

Objectives:
        Gaining knowledge on aspects related to the theory and practice of timber drying, drying of other wood-based materials, steaming of timber, steaming and hot water treatments applied to bentwood furniture parts, logs and prisms for the veneer industry.

Contents:
        The course comprises two parts:
Part I. Theoretical Basics:
        - Definition and classification of heat treatments applied within wood industries.
        - Wood-moisture-heat system.
        - Heat and moisture transfer in heat treatment processes.
        - Physics laws regarding wood heating processes.
        - Physics laws regarding wood drying processes.
        - Mechanical behaviour of wood during drying. Stresses and strains.
        - Phases of the drying process. Principles of building up rational drying schedules for timber drying.
Part II. Methods, Technologies and Kilns
        - Timber drying.
        - Drying of bentwood furniture elements.
        - Drying of veneers, chips, fibers and other small-sized wood grades.
        - Timber steaming.
        - Heat treatments applied to bentwood furniture elements and barrel staves before bending.
        - Heat treatments applied to lgs and prisms before veneer cutting.
        - Other heat treatments applied in wood industry.

        The course hours are completed with practical laboratory and design applications. The laboratory applications refer to the following topics:
        - Presentation of a timber drying kiln (type SEBA). Components and technical characteristics.
        - Measuring methods and devices for wood moisture content. Application for the comparative
        determination of wood moisture content by oven-drying method and electrical methods (by means of
        three types of moisturemeters - resitive, capacitive and ultrasound).
        - Measuring methods and devices for the main drying parameters (air temperature, relative air humidity
        and equilibrium moisture content).
        - Measuring methods and devices for air speed. Calculus of air pressure losses.
        - Applications regarding the use of the I-d diagram within the study of heat treatment processes.
        - Applications regarding the sorption and desorption dynamics for wood. Experimental determination
        of the equilibrium moisture content which wood (of different species and thicknesses) may reach
        when kept in an environment ith constant parameters (application performed by means of a FEUTRON
        KPK 200 climate chamber).
        - Establishing timber drying schedules for conventional drying (below 100°C)
        - Establishing timber drying schedules for high-temperature drying (above 100°C)
        - Computer-aided kiln control (application performed by meand of the equipment and software
        delivered by SEBA).
        - Presentation of a steaming cell. Establishing the optimum steaming conditions for bentwood
        furniture parts prior to bending.
        - Theoretical and experimental study concerning the heating duration (through indirect steaming) for
        wooden prisms prior to veneer cutting.

        The design applications mainly envisage the complete design of a complete drying kiln. Starting from individual initial data, each student has to follow the main steps for completing such a design:
        - Technological calculus (dimensioning of the kiln and storages before and after drying, adopting the
        necessary number of kilns etc.).
        - Thermic calculus (dimensioning the necessary heating surface).
        - Aerodynamic calculus (establishing the fan parameters, the power of the driving motors, the diameter
        of the air chimneys etc.).
        - Economic calculus (evaluating the drying costs).
        - Technical drawings - main sections through the designed kiln.

History:
        The subject was first taught under the denomination of "Wood Drying", as early as 1951, within the Institute of Wood Exploitation and Industrialization in Bucharest, having Senior Lecturer Dr.Eng. N.St. DUMITRESCU as head of discipline. He is the author of the first speciality book in Romanian language, entitled "Wood drying" and published by the Technical Publishing House Bucharest, in 1969. Prof. N.St. DUMITRESCU was also a corresponding member at FAO and the Romanian representative in the Wood Committee in Geneva. He was head of discipline for a period of 19 years, during which the faculty/department of wood industry went through several changes as structure and location, until the founding of the Wood Industry Faculty in Brasov, in 1959.
        The title of the discipline went also through several modifications in time, namely: "Wood Drying and Steaming" (1957-1962), then "Technology and Installations for the Heat Treatment of Wood" (1962-1966), and finally, "Heat Treatments of Wood", which was preserved up to date.
        Starting with 1970, Lecturer eng. Ion MARINESCU became head of discipline. He is the author of several reference books, such as "Wood Drying. Vol. I" and "Heat Treatments of Wood. Vol. II", published at the Technical Publishing House Bucharest, 1979 and 1980, as well as of an impressive guide for the design of heat treatment kilns, which remained up to date the only reference source of this kind. As Honorific Senior Lecturer, Dr. Ion MARINESCU taught this subject to over 30 consecutive generations of students, until 2002, the year of his retirement, but he still unfolds teaching activity at present, as associated professor.
        Starting with 1996, Eng. Mihaela CAMPEAN became his close collaborator, first as assistant (1996-2000), providing the laboratory and design hours, then as lecturer (2000-2003), taking also over the lecture at the sub-engineer (college) section, then as senior lecturer (2003-2007) and professor (since 2007), being at present the new head of discipline.
        In time, several other teachers provided laboratory and design hours at this discipline, such as: Prof.Dr.Eng. Daniela MHAI, Prof.Dr.Eng. Stefan ALEXANDRU, Lecturer Nicolae ENE and others.

Present Head of Discipline:
- Prof.Dr.Eng. Mihaela CAMPEAN, graduate of the Wood Industry Faculty in Brasov, class 1993.
- Title of PhD Thesis: "Contributions to the Study of Forced Drying of Resinous Timber under the Effect of - - - Fast Alternating Air Movement", defended in January 2002 at the "Transilvania" University of Brasov.
Publications:
        - CAMPEAN, M. (1996). "Heat Treatments of Wood. Timber Drying" (in Romanian language). Printing House of the "Transilvania" University in Brasov.
        - CAMPEAN, M.; MARINESCU, I. (2000). "Heat Treatments of Wood. Guide for Laboratory Works" (in Romanian language). Printing House of the         - Transilvania" University in Brasov.
        - CAMPEAN, M.; MARINESCU, I. (2003). "Heat Treatments of Wood. Theoretical Bases" (in Romanian language). Publishing House of "Transilvania" University, Brasov.
        - CAMPEAN, M. (2005). "Heat Treatments of Wood" (in English language). Publishing House of "Transilvania" University, Brasov.
Titles / Prizes / Awards:
        - 2005-present: deputy-coordinator of IUFRO 05.04.00 Wood Processing Unit.
Foreign Languages: German, English

Perspectives and Opportunities
         The future development of the discipline envisages:
        - Using the new material basis of the laboratory (SEBA-type drying kiln endowed with automatic control system and own boiler, climatic chamber, modern measuring equipment for the drying parameters), in order to perform own researches. Two main goals are to be achieved by this: (1) the basis for participating at prestigeos international scientific events, where access to latest achievements in the field is granted; (2) permanent updating of the teaching material.
        - Enriching the reference material for students and industrial specialists by publishing a book in Romanian language on the Practice of Timber Drying and Steaming, as well as re-editing a Guide for Kiln Design, including some recommendations concerning the analysis of kiln offers.
        - Organizing periodical information sessions (workshops) for economical agents, as well as intensive courses for updating knowledge in this field.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
        On this occasion, I wish to thank SEBA INDUSTRIAL Company for the generous sponsoring consisting in a modern timber drying kiln with own boiler and equipped with an automatic kiln control system, which enhanced the modernization of the material basis of the laboratory. I also wish to address my sincerest acknoledgement to all Romanian woodprocessing enterprises which understood the importance of access to technological information and supported since 1996 through sponsorships our participation to all 6 editions of the International IUFRO Wood Drying Conference during these last 12 years.