WOOD RESEARCH Volume 69, Number 1, 2024
WENGANG HU, WENJIE FU, and YUAN ZHAO

OPTIMAL DESIGN OF THE TRADITIONAL CHINESE WOOD FURNITURE JOINT BASED ON EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL METHODS

In this study, computer aided technology was utilized to improve the traditional grid shoulder mortise-and-tenon joint (GSMTJ). Firstly, the traditional GSMTJ was redesigned through using separated loose tenon by the computer aided design (CAD) software called AutoCAD. And then the mechanical strengths of the traditional GSMTJs and the improved GSMTJs were compared and analyzed using the experimentally validated finite element method (FEM) based on the computer aided engineering (CAE) software called ABAQUS. Finally, the GSMTJs were further investigated from perspective of manufacturing efficiency using the computer aided manufacturing (CAM) software called JDSoft SurfMill. Based on the above simulation analysis, the improved GSMTJ was validated to be equivalent strength, high manufacturing efficiency increasing by 11.5%, low processing load ratio decreasing by 30%, as well as less wood material cost reducing by 3.6% compared with the traditional GSMTJ. The proposed improved GSMTJ was validated to be more suitable to modern wood processing machines. In addition, the methodology of combining the CAD, CAE, and CAM to wood products design was proofed efficient, economic, and feasible, and can be also used in design of other products

WOOD RESEARCH Volume 65, Number 3, 2020
Wen-Gang Hu, Na Liu, Lu Xu, and Huiyuan Guan

Study on cold/warm sensation of materials used in desktop of furniture

The aim of this study was to investigate the cold/warm sensations of materials used in desktop when forearms touching desktop. Both experimental tests and subjective evaluations were conducted in this study. A device was developed used to simulate forearm in order to replace subjects. Five men and five women were selected and introduced to six types of materials and two types of environmental temperatures in the tests. The results showed that the effects of environmental temperature on contact temperature of all tested materials were statistically significant, and the differences among wood and wood based materials, plastic materials, and artificial stone were also statistically significant. The device developed in this study was qualified to measure the contacting temperature between forearm and desktop sustainably and steadily, which can reduce the error introduced by subjects. Although qualitative relation was found between contact temperature and subjective evaluations, no quantitative correlation was proved.

WOOD RESEARCH Volume 64, Number 3, 2019
Agata Stachowiak-Wencek

Influence of the packing method of wood products on the emission of volatile organic compounds

The work presents the influence of the way of packing the furniture on the level of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from the furniture after its unpacking. The study involved oak wood samples finished with selected varnish coating (polyurethane, waterborne and waterborne UV curable coating). After preparation the samples have been packed for 15 days into selected packaging materials: corrugated cardboard, polyurethane foam and stretch film. The VOC tests were carried out by means of the chamber test method. VOCs were analyzed by gas chromatography fitted with mass spectrometry and thermal desorption. The influence of the used type of packaging material on the level of VOCs emitted from furniture items after their immediate unpacking has been observed. The highest concentration of VOCs was found in items wrapped in stretch film while the lowest concentration was found in items packed in corrugated cardboard. That trend was irrespective of the type of coating material.