Abstract
Transverse prestress has been found to increase significantly the strength and stiffness of laminated timber bridge decks and timber joints using timber connectors. A fundamental requirement to the successful use of prestressing with timber is the ability to predict the reduction of prestress with time for transversely prestressed timber applications. The loss of prestress with time for transversely prestressed assemblies was studied experimentally and analytically. The analytical study consisted of developing a model that takes into account the effects of constant and changing relative humidity and stressing frequency. Analytical relaxation curves derived from the model were compared with experimental relaxation curves. The model was also used to predict prestress losses in different scenarios. Results show that the proposed relaxation model can be used effectively to predict prestress losses taking into account the effects of constant and changing relative humidity and stressing history. Key words: connections, wood, prestress, Douglas fir, rheology.
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