Abstract
Wood trusses with traditional bolted or nailed connections are generally modeled as pinned joints, and the forces on the wooden members are directly transmitted to the connections by shear plane contact. Other methodologies recommend that the analysis should be done more rigorously, taking into account the wood behavior and the evaluation of stress distribution within the connection area. There is a wide range of related data to pin-type connections, but the mechanical analysis of punched metal plate fasteners (nail plates) is still under developed. Nail plate connections are capable of transfer moments, therefore, appropriated modeling should be applied. The present paper compares two methodologies for the stress distribution in the rupture lines of nail plates, using an analytical approach and a numerical method with the commercial software Midas/Gen. The results show a quantitative parity for the proposed analytical model in the case of a single joint line, but the stresses diverge in both methods for zones that presents more than one joint line.
 Keywords: Timber, nail plate, structural analysis
Highlights
Wood is probably the oldest building material, dating from prehistory, where fallen trees were used as bridges to new lands
The motivation of study on timber connections comes from the unavailability of wood pieces that are compatible with the design requirements, either by structural geometry or by the high resistance capacity [1, 2]
The analytical model proved to be numerically acceptable taking into account the load distribution by the superposition principle, its static limitation based on a single joint line
Summary
Wood is probably the oldest building material, dating from prehistory, where fallen trees were used as bridges to new lands. The development of wood in the structural field is linked to the knowledge of connections properties and to the analysis methods used to evaluate load distributions and design parameters. The motivation of study on timber connections comes from the unavailability of wood pieces that are compatible with the design requirements, either by structural geometry or by the high resistance capacity [1, 2]. Among all types of mechanical connectors, punched metal plate fasteners (nail plates) are the most efficient. These plates are commonly used in the manufacture of prefabricated wooden trusses, and their low cost and easy production are the biggest
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