shows the results of static bending tests and the internal
gas pressure and atmospheric pressure ratio of dried timber
according to drying method. The results show that
an increase in microwave power level decreases the drying
time and internal gas overpressure and reduces the
strength of the dried timber. The dried samples in
a conventional oven at low temperature (T¼60C, relative
humidity¼10%) present the best mechanical properties
and low internal gas overpressure compared to combined
ambient convective and microwave heating. Analysis of
the mechanical properties data obtained in the current
experiments reveals that the microwave-dried wood
samples present the lowest strength values, and the highest
values were obtained by the conventional oven at low
temperature. Similar results were obtained by Oloyede
and Groombridge[23] for Caribbean pine wood. The
experimental data in terms of mechanical strength and
numerical results in terms of internal gas pressure allow
optimizing the drying conditions of combined microwave