Mechanical properties of knock-down joints in honeycomb panels

Abstract

This study focuses on the use of demountable furniture joints in combination with 38-mm-thick honeycomb panels. These fittings were incorporated into L-shaped corner joints and then tested to determine their bending moment capacity. Overall, seven combinations of demountable fittings were tested. These groups of connectors consisted of solution non-glued, partly-glued connectors, and fully-glued connectors. All of the connectors were positioned in the test samples as they are commonly located in furniture construction. The highest capacities were obtained with glued connectors, followed by partly glued and then non-glued connectors. The difference in capacity between the inside and outside positions was insignificant for the non-glued and fully-glued connectors. A large difference between connectors in different positions was found for the partly glued connectors and for the second type of unglued connectors. The modes of failure were analyzed for each connector, and the possibilities for use in construction are described.