Dielectric determination of moisture of wood using time domain reflectrometry

The usefulness of time domain reflec-tometry, TDR, for wood moisture was examined. TDR was applied to determine the dependent on moisture relative dielectric constant, e, of wood. The relationship between volumetric moisture, 6, and relative dielectric constant was investigated for pine, beech and oak. Obtained results showed a linear relationship Ve (0), with intercept, itc, and slope, sip, varying from one species to another, dependent on porosity, jj. Fitting a regression line to itc(rj) and to slp(rj) produced a ^-sensitive conversion equation accounting for porosity. Fitting a regression line to the aggregated species 0TDR(0) data set, resulted in a 1:1 line with R = 0.9962 and SD = 0.019. Thus, it was concluded that TDR could be a convenient technique to estimate volumetric moisture of wood with no specific calibration needed.