College of Art and Built Environment

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    Exploring the potentials of mfensi clay for the production of garden stool
    (2021-06-14) Torsu, John Kojo; .
    Furniture and stool production have been in various shapes and forms usually with materials which are resistant to the harsh weather conditions such as wood, metal, plastic, bamboo and cement. Nevertheless, beauty and strength have become an integral part of outdoor furniture due to their numerous technological innovations and marketing. Today, cement has become the basic material for garden stool production with wood being the most dominating raw material. Critical observations and analysis into the mineralogical composition of Mfensi clay, compelled the researcher to aim at exploring the potentials of Mfensi clay for clay garden stool production. As a result, this research seeks to test for the potential properties of Mfensi clay, feldspar and silica for suitable clay body composition for the production of clay garden stools. To achieve these set objectives, the researcher used the qualitative research method, coupled with the experimental and the descriptive research designs to analyse and draw meaningful conclusions. The following three clay body compositions were subjected to shrinkage test, water absorption test and atterberg limits respectively. Clay body ‘A’ constituted 70% Mfensi clay, 10% feldspar and 20% silica. Clay body ‘B’ constituted 80% Mfensi clay, 10% feldspar and 10% silica whiles, clay body ‘C’, constituted 60% Mfensi clay, 20% feldspar and 20% silica. Conclusions drawn from these tests revealed that, clay body ‘A’ which constituted 70% Mfensi clay, 10% feldspar and 20% silica exhibited creditable physical and chemical properties that renders it more potent for clay garden stool production. It is recommended that, the Department of Integrated Rural Art and Industry, takes advantage of the properties in Mfensi for clay garden stools production.