Original paper

THE INFLUENCE OF WOOD MOISTURE CONTENT ON THE

PROCESS OF CIRCULAR RIP-SAWING. PART I: POWER
REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFIC CUTTING FORCES

Authors
Ruica Beljo-Lui, Vlado Goglia, Stjepan Pervan, Igor uki, Stjepan
Risovi
Authors are assistant professor, professor, assistant, assistant and assistant professor at Faculty
of Forestry the University of Zagreb

Address:
Faculty of Forestry
P.O. Box 422
10002 ZAGREB
C R O AT I A

Corresponding author:
Assist. Prof. Ruica Beljo-Lui, PhD
Fax number: ++385-1-218-616
Telephone number: ++385-1-235-2430
E-mail: beljo@hrast.sumfak.hr
Titles of authors:
Assist. Prof. Ruica Beljo-Lui
Prof. Vlado Goglia, PhD
Assist. Stjepan Pervan, PhD
Assist. Igor uki, BSc
Assist. Prof. Stjepan Risovi, PhD

ABSTRACT
This paper presents the results of research on power requirements during conventional sawing
of oakwood (Quercus Robur L.) on a circular saw for rip-sawing. The major parameters
affecting the cutting power are the basic density and the nature of wood species, wood
moisture content, feed direction, feed rate, cutting depth and kerf width. The concerned
variables in this research were wood moisture content, cutting depth and feed rate. The cutting
speed and tool parameters remain constant. Directions of cutting with regard to grain
directions were approximately the same for each cutting depth.
Cutting power was measured for a specific condition of wood and machine parameters and
specific cutting forces were estimated. Specific cutting forces during sawing of green wood
are less than specific cutting forces of kiln dried wood and frozen wood. Research results
indicate a significant decrease of specific cutting forces in sawing green wood in transversal
direction (90-90).
Key words: circular saw, wood moisture content, power requirements, specific cutting forces

INTRODUCTION
For achieving efficient wood machining with circular saws it is essential to understand
thoroughly the interaction between raw materials, end products, machinery and the sawing
process itself. Adequate knowledge of correct bite, feed speeds, tooth speeds, side clearances,
depths of cut, cutting forces and power requirements is essential for a good saw operation.
For pulling out a chip the teeth of a circular saw must apply a force bigger then the cohesion
of the material. This effort, called cutting force, is the result of several forces: bending of
fibres, shearing force and friction on tool faces (Aquilera and Martin, 2001).
The cutting force as well as power requirements are dependent on wood species (wood
density, nature of the species and moisture content), work conditions (feed direction, depth of
cut, kerf width, chip size, feed and sawing speed) and tool parameters (hook angle, clearance
angle, edge sharpening, total number of teeth and tool diameter). We have a good
understanding of the influence of most wood and machinery parameters on cutting forces and
power requirements (Postnikov, 1965; Mikolaik, 1981; Lunstrum, 1985; Williston, 1989;
Goglia, 1994).
Aquilera and Martin (2001) pointed out the following variables as the ones having the highest
impact on cutting forces: depth of cut, wood density and feed direction. Konishi (1972) stated
that cutting force is affected quite sensitively by wear of edge. He stated also that the more
specific gravity was, the more the cutting force, and this trend is evident in the case of the
same species. It makes sense since the nature and origin of species could be the factors having
significant impact on cutting forces.
The consumed cutting energy is directly linked to the forces acting on the tool. The cutting
power Pc can be expressed as follows:
Pc W s V s

(1)

where Vs is the wood stock removed in cubic centimetres per second and Ws is specific energy
required for transforming the cubic centimetre of removed stock. This specific energy
corresponds to the value of specific cutting force. So, the cutting power corresponds to wood
volume Vs transformed to chips per second multiplied by the specific cutting force fs.
Pc f s Vs f s v f hc s k

(2)

where vf is feed speed, hc is depth of cut and sk is kerf width.

According to some authors the specific cutting force is exclusively a function of parameters
associated with the relevant machining properties of the material (Buar and Buar, 2002;
Aquilera and Martin, 2001) and others state that the specific cutting force is also influenced
by technical parameters of cutting (Williston, 1989; Goglia at al, 2002). It is obvious that the
determination of the function of influencing parameters on specific cutting force is very
complex.
Krilov (1980) developed the mathematical expression that covered influence of basic wood
characteristics on sawblade potential. He stated that one of the basic wood characteristics
greatly affecting the behaviour of the cutting tool was undoubtedly timber moisture content
but his empirical equation was valid for the constant moisture content.
Most researches of parameters influencing cutting forces and power requirements were
conducted at the constant moisture content of wood (Konishi, 1972; Steward, 1984; Aquilera
and Martin, 2001; Buar and Buar, 2002).
As reported by Postnikov (1965) and Mikolaik (1981) the specific cutting force in sawing as
well as power requirements increase with the increase of wood moisture content in spite of the
decrease of wood mechanical characteristics. They explained that the increase of forces of
friction between the tool, pulled out chips and both workpiece kerf sides occurred more
rapidly with the increase of wood moisture than the decrease of wood mechanical
characteristics. Also, Ratnasingam at al. (1999) in determining the costs of wood machining
process took into account the power increase when machining wood with a higher moisture
content.
The purpose of our investigation was to measure power requirements of the circular saw in
cutting green and kiln dried wood. The secondary objective was to determine specific cutting
forces in cutting green and dried wood pieces and to make comparison between them.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
This study researches cutting characteristics of the most important and most valuable wood
species in Croatia: the oak wood (Quercus Robur L.). The machining process was carried out
on a circular saw for rip-sawing Bratstvo, type AC-3. The cutting speed was 53 m/s. Tool
parameters are given in the Table 1.
Tab. 1: Characteristics of used circular saw

Cutting tests were performed on green wood (moisture content was 40-70 %) and kiln dried
wood pieces (moisture content was 8-12 %), on three cutting depths (24 mm, 40 mm and 52
mm) and four feed speeds (15, 23, 30 and 46 m/min) keeping cutting speed constant. The
measurement was also performed on a wood piece (cutting depth 52 mm) that was frozen.
The directions of cutting with regard to grain directions in the whole experiment were
approximately the same for each cutting depth (see Fig. 1). The moisture content was
determined by use of electrical resistant wood moisturemeter according to EN 175-13.01-2.
Fig. 1: Sawing condition
In the sawing process it is very important to measure cutting forces and the specific cutting
force for determining the working conditions but in practice this proves to be difficult. It is
easier to measure the cutting power. Aquilera and Martin (2001) showed that the cutting force
could be estimated by measuring the cutting power for a specific wood and machine
condition.
The electrical power requirements during cutting were measured by use of the instruments
shown in Figure 2.
Fig. 2: The arrangement of used measuring equipment (1 sawblade, 2 electromotor, 3
current transformer, 4 programmable power converter Iskra MI400, 5 National
Instruments BNC-2110, 6 NI DaqPad 6070-E, 7 personal computer)
Cutting power Pc was derived according to the next relation:
Pc Pt Po PLel PLm

(3)

where: Pt arithmetic mean of measured total power in 0.2 s interval (the sampling frequency
was 80 kHz); Po - arithmetic mean of measured power during machine idling; PLel loss of
electric power because of motor loading; PLm loss of mechanic power because of motor
loading.
The data were analysed by use of: LabVIEW, EXCEL and STATISTICA 6.0.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Figure 3 shows the results of cutting power in relation to feed speed for green, frozen and
dried wood pieces and for three different cutting depths. In the range of the experiment feed

speed it is obvious that the dependence of the cutting power on feed speed could be expressed
as linear.
Fig. 3: Cutting power in relation to feed speed for green, frozen and dried wood
For all cutting depths, measurement results have shown that more power is required when
sawing dried and frozen wood than green wood. This result is contrary to the assumption of
the above authors that the power requirements increase with the increase of wood moisture
content. Also, the statement of the majority of authors researching cutting forces and power
requirements in cutting wood, that the power requirements increase with the increase of wood
density could be valid only for the totally dry wood because higher moisture content increases
the wood density but not power requirements.
The specific cutting forces were determined using the relation:
fs

Pc
v f hc s k

(4)

where Pc is cutting power, vf is feed speed, hc is depth of cut and sk is kerf width.
Figure 4 shows the calculated specific cutting forces for dried, green and frozen wood in the
range of the experiment feed speeds. The changes of specific cutting force influenced by
different feed speed in the range of experiment are not significant. The reason lies in relatively
high feed rates and average chip thickness exceeding 0.15 mm.
Fig. 4: Calculated specific cutting forces in relation to feed speed for green, frozen and dried
wood
Figure 4 shows clearly that specific cutting forces of dried wood are greater than specific
cutting forces of green wood. It seems that the effect of moisture content in decreasing wood
mechanic characteristics has higher influence on the specific cutting forces than the effect of
wood moisture in increasing friction between the tool, pulled out chips and both workpiece
kerf sides. We conducted statistical testing to support our hypothesis. As shown in Figure 5,
the variance of specific cutting forces of dried wood is greater than the variance of specific
cutting forces of green wood.
Fig. 5: Median values, minimum and maximum values of specific cutting forces for green,
dried and frozen wood

As data variances were not homogenous, nonparametric testing was used for statistical
analyses, namely the Mann-Whitney U-test. The statistical test confirmed our hypothesis and
the differences between specific cutting forces of green and dried wood are significant at
p<0,01. Also, the specific cutting forces of frozen wood are greater than specific cutting
forces of green wood if the other parameters are the same.
The specific cutting force of dried wood is greater for the cutting depth of 24 mm than for the
cutting depth of 40 mm and 52 mm. This is the consequence of practically transversal
direction of cutting (90-90) when the cutting depth of circular sawing is small. When the
cutting depth is great the angle between cutting direction and the grain direction is less then
90 and the specific cutting force is smaller. It is interesting that the difference of specific
cutting forces between different cutting depths, that means different cutting directions, for
green wood is not significant at the level p<0,01. It could be explained by a significant
decrease of specific cutting forces in transversal cutting direction caused by decreased wood
mechanical properties as a result of high wood moisture content.
The conducted experimental sawing clearly shows that less energy is required for sawing
green wood than dried and frozen wood. It should be noted, however, that further research
should be carried out of other machining parameters, sawing quality parameters and other
wood species so as to make a comprehensive comparison between sawing of dried and green
lumber.
CONCLUSION
Contrary to the opinion of some authors, the research results have shown that the specific
cutting force in sawing green wood is lower than the specific cutting force in sawing kiln
dried wood. It seems that the effect of moisture in decreasing wood mechanic characteristics
has a higher influence on the specific cutting force than the effect of wood moisture in
increasing friction between the tool, pulled out chips and both workpiece kerf sides. Research
results indicate a significant decrease of specific cutting forces of green wood especially in
transversal direction of cutting. According to conducted research, rip-sawing of green lumber
requires 20 30 % less power than sawing of kiln dried wood and this fact should be taken
into account of wood machining costs.
REFERENCES

1. Aquilera, A, Martin, P. 2001: Machining qualification of solid wood of Fagus silvatica L.

and Picea excelsa L.: cutting forces, power requirements and surface roughness. Holz als
Roh- und Werkstoff 59:483-488.
2. Buar, B., Buar, D. G., 2002: The influence of the specific cutting force and crosssectional geometry of a chip on the cutting force in the process of circular rip-sawing.
Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff 60:146-151.
3. Goglia, V., 1994: Strojevi i alati za obradu drva I dio, umarski fakultet Zagreb, p.73-74.
4. Goglia, V., Risovi, S., Beljo-Lui, R., uki, I., 2002: Mehanika krunih pila, I. dio:
Izbor poloaja lista pile. Drvna industrija 53(2):93-98.
5. Krilov, A., 1980: Toward the re-appraisal of the influence of basic wood characteristics on
sawblade potential. Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff 38:145-149.
6. Konishi, C., 1972: Cutting ability of knife planer. I. Relationship between condition of
wood and cutting force. Mokuzai Gakkaishi 40(6): 577-583.
7. Lunstrum, S. J., 1985: Balanced Saw Performance. Technical Report No. 12, Madison,
WI. USA, p. 17
8. Mikolaik, L., 1981: Drevarske stroje a zariadenia, 1. zvazok, SNTL Statni
nakladatelstvi technicke literatury, Praha, p. 38
9. Postnikov, A., 1965: Maine za mehaniku obradu drva I dio, teorija rezanja. Univerzitet u
Sarajevu, p. 60-61.
10. Steward, H. A., 1984: Result force and surface quality from some face-milling variables.
Forest Product Journal 34(5): 21-24.
11. Ratnasingam, J., Ma, T. P., Perkins, M. C., 1999: Productivity in wood machining
processes a question of simple economics. Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff 57:51-56.
12. Williston, E.D.M., 1989: Saws. Design, Selection, Operation, Maintenance. Second
Edition. San Francisco, California: Miller Freeman Publications. p. 450.

Tab. 1: Characteristics of used circular saw

Properties
Saw diameter, mm
Number of teeth
Pitch, mm
Gullet area, mm2
Blade thickness, mm
Kerf width, mm
Clearence angle,
Hook angle,

Value
340
24
43
210
2.5
3.3
10
17

f
H

sr

F
n

Fig. 1: Sawing condition

hc

vp

Fig. 2: The arrangement of used measuring equipment (1 sawblade, 2 electromotor, 3

current transformer, 4 programmable power converter Iskra MI400, 5 National
Instruments BNC-2110, 6 NI DaqPad 6070-E, 7 personal computer)

(a) h =24 mm

4000
3500

dried wood

green wood

3500

dried wood

3000

y = 42,23 x + 291,59
R 2 = 0,8892

Cutting power, W

dried wood
green wood

2500

2000

2000

1500

1500

1000

1000
y = 36,435 x - 188,27
2
R = 0,8909

500

y = 70,78 x - 14,9
R 2 = 0,8409

green wood

3000

green wood

2500

y = 43,789 x + 192,15
R 2 = 0,9644

500

0
0

4000

(b) h =40 mm

4000

dried wood

10

20

30

40

50

(c) h =52 mm

green wood
green wood

3000

dried wood

2500

20

green wood

4500
y = 78,327 x + 164,5
R 2 = 0,83

10

30

40

50

(d) h =52 mm

5000

dried wood

3500

frozen wood

4000

green wood

3500

frozen wood

y = 94,417 x + 196,56
2
R = 0,8906

3000

2000

2500
2000

1500

1500

y = 68,439 x - 124,22
R 2 = 0,9927

1000

y = 68,439 x - 124,22
2
R = 0,9927

1000

500

500

0
0

10

20

30

40

50

10

20

30

40

Feed speed, m/min

Fig. 3: Cutting power in relation to feed speed for green, frozen and dried wood

50

70

(a) h =24 mm

70

(b) h =40 mm

dried wood
60

dried wood

green wood

60

green wood

dried wood

Specific cutting force, N/mm

50

dried wood
50

green wood

40

40

30

30

20

20

10

10

0
10

70

green wood

20

30

40

50

(c) h =52 mm

10
70

20

30

green wood

green wood

60

frozen wood

dried wood
50

50

(d) h =52 mm

dried wood
60

40

green wood
50

green wood

40

40

30

30

20

20

10

10

frozen wood

0
10

20

30

40

50

10

20

30

40

50

Feed speed, m/min

Fig. 4: Calculated specific cutting forces in relation to feed speed for green, frozen and dried
wood

70
Median

25%-75%

Min-Max

Specific cutting force, N/mm2

60

50

40

30

frozen (52 mm)

green (52 mm)

dried (52 mm)

green (40 mm)

dried (40 mm)

green (24 mm)

10

dried (24 mm)

20

Fig. 5: Median values, minimum and maximum values of specific cutting forces for green,
dried and frozen wood