Structural behaviour of stop-splayed scarf joint reinforced with timber pegs

Abstract

In restoring ancient timber structures, employing traditional connections would be advisable with the aim of minimal modification of the overall structural behaviour. Moreover, instead of steel connectors or adhesive resins and rods, commonly used in interventions, employing timber pegs can be an efficient solution. Nevertheless, the lack of design rules for traditional timber joints or for timber pegged connections in European codes doesn’t encourage this more conservative approach. In this study, stop-splayed scarf joints behaviour before and after reinforcement with steel pins or timber pegs is experimentally investigated, in order to understand the role of the fastener inside this carpentry joint and check the reliability of existing design methods. The experimental program has two steps: in the first one, three samples of fir scarf joints without fasteners, with timber pegs and with steel pins have been tested, trying to define the forces distribution among the different resisting elements. In the second phase, two samples of simple shear plane joints, made with the same timber and fastened with both timber pegs and steel pins have been tested to improve the analysis of fastener role in reinforced scarf joint behaviour.