Strength comparative analysis of furniture joints made of various materials

Abstract

The strength comparative analysis of furniture joints made of various materials. The influence of the load on the angular deformation of the furniture joint samples made of various materials was studied. The tests were carried out for six types of furniture materials: chipboard, MDF, hardwood plywood, glued pine wood, glued oak wood and HPL and for three types of fasteners with different ways of fixing in connected elements: shape-thread, expansion-expansion and expansion-thread way of anchoring in material of boards. The joint samples were loaded with a bending moment only (without inducing transverse loadings). The maximum load capacity and load capacity at the 3° (0.052 rad) sample rotation was measured and then the stiffness coefficients were calculated. Considerable differences were found between HPL and others lignocellulosic materials. Expansion fasteners offer incredibly low joint rigidity. This was observed for all tested furniture materials, from soft (chipboard) to very hard (HPL). Expansion connectors work better in soft lignocellulosic materials than in hard materials. The main advantage of expansion fasteners, in comparison to shape-thread fasteners, is its low visibility in the joint and the technological ease of assembly. On the other hand, thread-shaped connectors offer much greater strength and stiffness of joints.\n\n