Engineering Commons^™

Control And Design Of A Passive Solar Lumber Drying Kiln, Peter Chardavoyne

Honors Scholar Theses

The passive solar lumber drying kiln design, developed by EE Senior Design Team 2317 is presented, tested, and discussed. The design incorporates solar power and a custom control system to dry 12’ lumber boards inside a shipping container much faster than air-drying methods, which can take up to a year for thorough drying, though this can be extended due to the unpredictability of weather events and conditions. This work presents the design as in the final report provided by the team, but provides a more detailed explanation and analysis of the microcontroller system, testing methods and outcomes, alternate solutions and …