Dovetail joints are commonly seen in a furniture frame construction because of their unique configuration and strength. The tensile strength of dovetail joints was experimentally and analytically investigated using fracture mechanics method in this study. Experimental results of the investigation of effects of geometry factors on the tensile strength of dovetail joints in southern yellow pine and red oak indicated that the tensile strength of red oak joints was about 2 times higher than the one of southern yellow pine joints. Statistical analysis results indicated that the tail angle and tenon length of dovetail joints had significant influences on their tensile strength, and the tenon width was not a significant factor on the joint tensile strength. The fracture behaviors of southern yellow pine and red oak materials were investigated in the radial-longitudinal crack propagation system using a compact tension test method. Effects of wood specific gravity on fracture toughness for two wood species were studied in terms of their three growth ring combinations; earlywood, earlywood and latewood interface, and latewood. Regression analysis results indicated that the fracture toughness of two evaluated wood species can be predicted based on their specific gravity values. Statistical analyses indicated that the latewood yielded the significantly higher fracture toughness value, followed by earlywood and latewood interface, then earlywood for both wood species. Proposed prediction equations for tensile strengths of dovetail joints based on fracture toughness values of wooden materials used for frame construction were validated experimentally.

Excavations conducted in A.D. 1894 and 1895 by French archaeologist Jean- Jacques de Morgan at the funerary complex of the ancient Egyptian Middle Kingdom pharaoh Senwosret III on the plain of Dahshur revealed some unparalleled finds which included five or six small boats. These boats provide a unique opportunity in nautical archaeology—to study contemporaneous hulls. Today, only four of the "Dahshur boats" can be located with certainty; two are in the United States, one in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh and one in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The remaining two are on display in The Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Since their excavation these boats remained relatively inconspicuous until the mid-1980s when a study of the two hulls in the United States was conducted. However, the two boats in Cairo remained largely unpublished. This thesis combines personal observation and recording of the Cairo boats over two summers to reveal more unique characteristics of the hulls and will facilitate a future study of the group as a whole. Each boat is discussed individually and is further divided into its major components by order of construction.

Thesis (M. A.)--Texas A&M University, 2005. / "Major Subject: Anthropology" Title from author supplied metadata (automated record created on Apr. 27, 2007.) Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

In 2013, cracks were found in the radius of the dovetail slots of the rotor rim sheets in generator 1 of Juktan hydro power plant in Västerbotten, Sweden. The cracks were estimated to be too deep to be able to repair and Alstom conducted an investigation on the cause of fracture. The investigation came to the conclusion that the radius was too small and that the new rotor rim sheets should have a six times greater fillet radius. However, it has not been investigated whether the material structure or the manufacturing process may have an impact on the crack initiation and following propagation that is the focus of this report.Parts of the dovetail slots were cut out and characterized with XRF, SEM and LOM. Further mechanical characterizations were done according to Vickers.From the SEM and LOM micrographs a high amount of large (10μm) and cubic particles were found in the microstructure. The micrographs also showed a deformation of the microstructure and the hardness test showed a deformation hardening near the edge where the sheet had been punched. The edge surface of the sheet also had notches.The large and hard particles in the microstructure impair the mechanical properties of the steel. Furthermore, the hardening effect combined with the notches will make a good crack initiation point. Therefore, there is a higher possibility that a crack will initiate in the radius of the dovetail slots where large stresses occur.