Study on contact force relaxation behavior of mortise-and-tenon joints considering tenon fits and grain orientations of tenon

A new method of testing mechanical properties of mortise-and-tenon joints is put forward. The contact force relaxation behavior of joints for 3 h with tenons in different grain orientations and tenon fits were studied. The results showed that the initial and final contact force of joints with tenons in radial grain orientation were all larger than those in tangential grain orientation in the same tenon fit. The regression equations generated in this paper were able to predict the contact force relaxation behavior of joints with tenons in different grain orientations, tenon fits, and time, and the errors were all within 20%. In addition, the ratio of loss for contact force of joints with tenons in radial grain orientations was greater than that with tenons in tangent in the same tenon fit. The ratios of loss decreased from 51% to 31% in two grain orientations of tenon with tenon fits increasing from 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm with an increment of 0.1 mm. The method proposed in this paper was able to predict the contact force relaxation of mortise-and-tenon joints. The relaxation of contact force in a joint should be considered when designing mortise-and-tenon joint furniture. © 2018, BioResources.