Experimental investigation of the moment-rotation behaviour of beam-column connections produced using compressed wood connectors

Abstract

The use of timber in construction in medium–high rise construction has increased in recent years largely due to the significant innovation in engineered wood products and connection technology coupled with a desire to utilise more environmentally sustainable construction materials. While engineered wood products offer a low-carbon solution to the construction industry, the widespread use of adhesive and metallic fasteners often limits the recyclability of the structural components at the end of life of the structure and it may be beneficial to reduce this where possible.To establish the possibility of an all-wood connection solution, this preliminary study examines a series of beam-column connections designs to evaluate the relative performance of the different designs, which are connected with modified or compressed wood (CW) connectors. The connection designs are formed between glued-laminated beam and column members in the first instance and later examined when connecting dowel-laminated timber (DLT) members.The results show that significant moment capacity and rotational stiffness can be achieved for connections solely connected using CW fasteners. Furthermore, the all-wood solution utilising CW fasteners to connect DLT members has also demonstrated significant moment capacity and rotational stiffness capacity without the use of adhesive and metallic components.