Evaluation of Withdrawal Resistance of Screw-Type Fasteners Depending on Lead-Hole Size, Grain Direction, Screw Size, Screw Type and Species

Abstract

Screw-type fasteners are widely used to make connections between wood members or between wood and steel connectors because they can tolerate the applied loads by withdrawal or shearing. In this study, we evaluated the withdrawal resistances of the screw-type fasteners and analyzed the effects of the lead-hole size, relative grain direction (tangential, radial, and cross-sections) of the wood member, screw diameter, screw type, and species. Two wood species, including domestic larch and imported spruce, and three screw-type fasteners, including domestic lag screws (diameters of 9.46, 7.79, and 6.27 mm), domestic tapping screw (diameter, 6.3 mm), and imported Sherpa screw (diameter, 8.0 mm) were used. To assess the effect of lead-hole size, the lead holes with diameters corresponding to 68.7%, 70.8%, and 74.0% of the shank diameter of the lag screw were predrilled. The lead hole corresponding to 74% of the shank diameter was selected for this study because the smaller lead holes required higher rotational force for installation, which may cause damage in the screw neck, although there was no significant difference in the withdrawal resistance depending on the lead-hole sizes applied in this study. The lag screws installed on the tangential and radial surfaces showed similar withdrawal resistances to each other, which were greater than those installed on the cross-sectional surface. As the lag screw diameter increased from 6.27 mm to 9.46 mm, the withdrawal resistance also increased proportionally. The withdrawal resistance of the tapping screw having a diameter of 6.3 mm was almost 1.6 times higher than that of the lag screw having a similar diameter of 6.27 mm, while that of Sherpa screw having a diameter of 8.0 mm was around 1.4 times higher than that of the lag screw having a similar diameter of 7.79 mm.