Economic value of optical and X-ray CT scanning in bucking of Scots pine

Hannu Rummukainen*, Marika Makkonen, Jori Uusitalo

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    9 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    In the Nordic countries, trees are typically bucked into logs using harvesters that measure only a two-dimensional diameter profile of the stem. Because the value of a log can vary significantly depending on its shape and internal defects, bucking decisions can in principle be improved by optical scanning of the three-dimensional stem shape, and detection of knots and other features inside the stem by X-ray computed tomography (CT). The objective of this study was to quantify how much the value recovery at a sawmill could be increased, if bucking decisions took advantage of additional measurement data and a sawing simulator to estimate log values. A simulation study on 1582 Scots pine stems was performed to compare bucking based on a two-dimensional diameter profile with bucking that maximises log value based on either optical scanning alone, or both optical and CT scanning. For log positioning, both the traditional “horns-down” position, and value-maximising rotation based on CT scanning were considered. The results show that bucking based on optical scanning alone can potentially increase the value of sawn timber by up to 5%, and CT scanning before bucking provides little additional value for a sawmill using a CT scanner to optimise log rotation.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)178-187
    JournalWood Material Science and Engineering
    Volume16
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - May 2021
    MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

    Funding

    This study was financially supported by Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation (grant number 3777/31/2013) and the Federation of the Finnish Woodworking Industries, and was a contribution to project VARMA within the transnational WoodWisdom-Net Research Programme.

    Keywords

    • Bucking optimisation
    • CT scanning
    • log positioning
    • sawing simulation
    • value recovery

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Economic value of optical and X-ray CT scanning in bucking of Scots pine'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this