Bending Capacity of Middle Joints of Upholstered Furniture Frames
This study evaluates the edgewise bending moment capacity of the four most frequently used middle joints in the upholstered furniture frames. The research included the following joints: Mortise and Tenon, double Dowel, Corner Blocks and double Gusset Plates, designed in the form of middle joints and made of beech and poplar solid wood. The test results indicated that regarding the edgewise bending force, the strongest middle joint was the double dowel joint made of beech wood (1896.9 N), while the respective joint made of poplar marked quite a low value of bending force (937.2 N). The strength of wooden corner blocks was proved to be quite powerful, made either of beech wood, poplar wood or the combination of the two wood species (beech: 1881.8 N, poplar: 1237.6 N, beech-poplar: 1783.6 N). The gusset plate joint made of beech resulted in weaker values (1378.2 N), compared to the dowel and corner block joints made of beech, whereas the same joint made of poplar demonstrated very satisfying values of edgewise bending force (1471.8 N). Finally, the mortise and tenon joint appeared to have the lowest strength, both in the case of beech (1306 N) and poplar (634 N). The highest coeffi cient of elasticity (CE) derived from double gusset plate joint, made of beech. All the joints showed good elasticity, except the mortise and tenon joint made of poplar, as well as, the dowel joint made of poplar, which recorded the lowest elasticity values of all. Generally, beech wood resulted in stronger and more elastic joints compared to poplar.
Tensile Performance of Traditional and Modern Corner Joints in Wooden Structures
Corner joints are critical points of wooden structures not only in furniture construction but also in traditional wooden architecture, especially in constructions without nails. This study was performed to determine the effects of particular factors such as the axis of assembly, types of material, and adhesive on the tensile performance of various modern and traditional types of wooden corner joints. For this purpose, various corner joint specimens were prepared with three different wooden materials: Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris Lipsky) wood, Lombardy poplar (Populus nigra Lipsky) wood, and Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) using two different adhesives: polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) and polyurethane (Desmodur-VTKA) glues; and five different wooden joint types: dowel, tongue-and-groove, half-blind dovetail, screw, and eccentric screw joints. Tensile performance tests, vertical and parallel to the axis of assembly, were carried out according to ASTM D 1037 guidelines. Experiments indicated that, while the tensile performance of MDF specimen connected with a screw and PVAc adhesive was the highest under loading parallel to the axis of assembly (4592 N); it was the lowest under loading parallel to the axis of assembly in MDF specimen connected with tongue-and-groove joint and PVAc adhesive (260 N), respectively. As a result, it may be advantageous to apply screwed joints in corners for high tensile strength in parallel to the axis of the assembly.
Evaluation of CuAl2O4 as an Oxygen Carrier in Chemical-Looping Combustion
The chemical-looping combustion (CLC) process is a novel solution for efficient combustion with intrinsic separation of carbon dioxide. The process uses a metal oxide as an oxygen carrier to transfer oxygen from an air to a fuel reactor where the fuel, or gasification products of the fuel, reacts with the solid oxygen carrier. In this work, copper(II) aluminate (CuAl2O4) was assessed as a potential oxygen carrier using methane as fuel. The carrier particles were produced by freeze–granulation and calcined at 1050 °C for a duration of 6 h. The chemical-looping characteristics were evaluated in a laboratory-scale fluidized-bed reactor in the temperature range of 900–950 °C during 45 alternating redox cycles. The oxygen carrier exhibited reproducible and stable reactivity behavior in this temperature range. Neither agglomeration nor defluidization was noticed in any of the cycles carried out at 900–925 °C. However, after reactivity tests at 950 °C, soft agglomeration and particle fragmentation were observed. Systematic phase analysis of the Cu–Al–O system during the redox cycle was carried out as a function of duration of reduction and oxygen concentration during the oxidation period. It was found that the CuAl2O4 is reduced to copper(I) aluminate (CuAlO2; delafossite), Cu2O, and elemental Cu. The CuAlO2 phase is characterized by slow kinetics for oxidation into CuO and CuAl2O4. Despite this kinetic limitation, complete conversion of methane with reproducible reactivity of the oxygen carrier is achieved. Thus, CuAl2O4 could be a potential oxygen carrier for chemical-looping combustion.