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Investigations on densified beech wood for application as a swelling dowel in timber joints

  • Philippe Grönquist ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Thomas Schnider , Andreas Thoma , Fabio Gramazio , Matthias Kohler , Ingo Burgert and Markus Rüggeberg
Published/Copyright: January 11, 2019
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Holzforschung
From the journal Holzforschung Volume 73 Issue 6

Abstract

For robotic fabrication of wooden structures, the simple, quick and tight joining of elements can be solved using swelling hardwood dowels. This topic has been the focus of the present study, and the set-recovery capacity of densified wood (dW) as dowel material was investigated. European beech was compressed in the radial direction at 103°C and 10% moisture content (MC) to a compression ratio of 40%. Multiple swelling and shrinkage cycles were applied to measure swelling behavior, swelling pressure development and combined swelling and creep under compressive loading. It has been demonstrated that dW shows increased swelling and more persisting swelling pressures than native wood (nW). The set-recovery prevents significant contact-stress relaxation over multiple cycles of MC change. Application as a structural joining element for robotic fabrication was studied by shear lap joint tests on round double-dovetail swelling dowels.

Keywords: creep; densified wood; dovetail swelling dowel; European beech; robotic fabrication; set-recovery; swelling coefficient; swelling pressure

Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank W. Sonderegger for providing the densification protocol, and M. Chanana, E.V. Bachtiar and F.K. Wittel for helpful discussions.

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: None declared.

  3. Employment or leadership: None declared.

  4. Honorarium: None declared.

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Received: 2018-05-04
Accepted: 2018-11-29
Published Online: 2019-01-11
Published in Print: 2019-06-26

©2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Original Articles
  3. Phylogenetic analysis of Aquilaria Lam. (Thymelaeaceae) based on DNA barcoding
  4. The complete plastome of real yellow wood (Podocarpus latifolius): gene organization and comparison with related species
  5. Calibration of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) data of three Eucalyptus species with extractive contents determined by ASE extraction for rapid identification of species and high extractive contents
  6. Formation of heartwood, chemical composition of extractives and natural durability of plantation-grown teak wood from Mexico
  7. Investigations on densified beech wood for application as a swelling dowel in timber joints
  8. Variation of the contents of biphenyl structures in lignins among wood species
  9. Activation of glucose with Fenton’s reagent: chemical structures of activated products and their reaction efficacy toward cellulosic material
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https://doi.org/10.1515/hf-2018-0106
Keywords for this article
creep; densified wood; dovetail swelling dowel; European beech; robotic fabrication; set-recovery; swelling coefficient; swelling pressure

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Original Articles
  3. Phylogenetic analysis of Aquilaria Lam. (Thymelaeaceae) based on DNA barcoding
  4. The complete plastome of real yellow wood (Podocarpus latifolius): gene organization and comparison with related species
  5. Calibration of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) data of three Eucalyptus species with extractive contents determined by ASE extraction for rapid identification of species and high extractive contents
  6. Formation of heartwood, chemical composition of extractives and natural durability of plantation-grown teak wood from Mexico
  7. Investigations on densified beech wood for application as a swelling dowel in timber joints
  8. Variation of the contents of biphenyl structures in lignins among wood species
  9. Activation of glucose with Fenton’s reagent: chemical structures of activated products and their reaction efficacy toward cellulosic material
  10. Purification of pulp mill condensates by an adsorptive process on activated carbon
  11. Preparation of mineral bound particleboards with improved fire retardant and smoke suppression properties based on a mix of inorganic adhesive
  12. Influence of silane/MaPE dual coupling agents on the rheological and mechanical properties of sawdust/rubber/HDPE composites
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