Abstract
One prominent strategy in achieving sustainability is upcycling, which is necessary for the transition of a post waste society. Craft has adopted the different ways of being in the world and can act as agent of change in the direction of sustainment. This study started with the aim to answer the question “Can I make something with this material, and if yes what can I make?” Poplar veneer and plywood strips were obtained by disassembling fruit crates and were used in the construction of flat and moulded plywood. Two types of adhesives were chosen for the manufacture of the specimens; Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA) and Liquid Hide Glue. During summer 2016, a total amount of 58 specimens was manufactured; the whole procedure was handcrafted. The specimens were subject to 3-point bending tests using a Universal Materials Tester. According to the test results, the Bending Strength of flat specimens was affected both by the number of layers (3 and 5 plies) and the type of adhesive used in each case (PVA and Liquid Hide Glue). The highest mean Bending Strength value proved to have derived from the 5-ply plywood laminated with Liquid Hide Glue. Referring to the Modulus of Elasticity value, Liquid Hide Glue appeared beneficial in increasing specimen’s Bending Stiffness and consequently Modulus of Elasticity as well. The geometry of moulded plywood specimens seemed to be beneficial to their mechanical behaviour, since both ‘Single-curved’ and ‘Double-curved’ specimens presented higher values of force at failure and bending stiffness, as compared to the flat 5-ply plywood (PVA) specimens.
Keywords
Material; Upcycling; Sustainability; Craft; Plywood; Wooden fruit crates; Poplar
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2017.110
Citation
Bofylatos, S., Kachrimani, C.,and Zacharopoulos, N.(2017) Upcycling Reclaimed Wood, a Preliminary Analysis, in Elvin Karana, Elisa Giaccardi, Nithikul Nimkulrat, Kristina Niedderer, Serena Camere (eds.), Alive. Active. Adaptive. International Conference on Experiential Knowledge and Emerging Materials, 19-20 June 2017, Delft and Rotterdam, The Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2017.110
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Upcycling Reclaimed Wood, a Preliminary Analysis
One prominent strategy in achieving sustainability is upcycling, which is necessary for the transition of a post waste society. Craft has adopted the different ways of being in the world and can act as agent of change in the direction of sustainment. This study started with the aim to answer the question “Can I make something with this material, and if yes what can I make?” Poplar veneer and plywood strips were obtained by disassembling fruit crates and were used in the construction of flat and moulded plywood. Two types of adhesives were chosen for the manufacture of the specimens; Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA) and Liquid Hide Glue. During summer 2016, a total amount of 58 specimens was manufactured; the whole procedure was handcrafted. The specimens were subject to 3-point bending tests using a Universal Materials Tester. According to the test results, the Bending Strength of flat specimens was affected both by the number of layers (3 and 5 plies) and the type of adhesive used in each case (PVA and Liquid Hide Glue). The highest mean Bending Strength value proved to have derived from the 5-ply plywood laminated with Liquid Hide Glue. Referring to the Modulus of Elasticity value, Liquid Hide Glue appeared beneficial in increasing specimen’s Bending Stiffness and consequently Modulus of Elasticity as well. The geometry of moulded plywood specimens seemed to be beneficial to their mechanical behaviour, since both ‘Single-curved’ and ‘Double-curved’ specimens presented higher values of force at failure and bending stiffness, as compared to the flat 5-ply plywood (PVA) specimens.