Summary
In this work, the extensive knowledge of wood gained at the Ecole Nationale du Génie Rural des Eaux
et Forêts by using a combination of microscopic observation and experimental work is being used to postulate
material property correlations for a macroscopic heterogeneous “Cerne” growth ring model of softwood.
Mathematical tools such as image analysis and homogenisation are used to develop models that
capture the effect of the density variation within the wood sample of important macroscopic physical
parameters. This first part is devoted to mass transfer in wood due to Darcy's law. Capillary pressure correlations
as a function of local density are deduced from image analysis. Thereafter, a tracheid model is
proposed for softwood. Its shape evolves from earlywood to latewood according to anatomical observations.
Liquid and gaseous permeability values are calculated from this model according to Poiseuille's
flow within cells and assuming a linear flow-pressure loss relationship through the pits.
Determination of the relationship among capillary pressure, saturation and interfacial area: a pore unit assembly approach
