Abstract
This paper presents a discussion of the problem of compressive strength in a direction perpendicular to the grains based on test results of the joints made by timber posts and sill plate. These tests accompanied a larger series of full-scale tests of timber frame walls. The test elements were made of solid softwood (spruce). The wood moisture was low, which corresponds to the real working conditions of these elements in the walls of a building (low humidity is typical for dry wood in the built-in wall of a real building). In the tests, the compression strength of timber perpendicular to the grain was exceeded in the sill plate in the area in contact with the posts. Shortly before reaching the state of failure, large displacements in the sill plate were measured on the contact surface with the post, and the grains in the sill plates were cut off at the edge of the post. The full-scale test results showed an overestimation of the load-bearing capacity in compression perpendicular to the grain when calculated on the basis of EN 1995-1-1+A1:2008 (Eurocode 5), and, therefore, the need to modify the current approach for determining it.
Highlights
Light timber frame walls are recognized as a very efficient and reliable wooden structure.In particular, their stiffness increases when they are joined with wood-based panels [1,2,3]
The characteristic proportional limit value of the compression force perpendicular to the grain in the tests was lower than the characteristic compression force perpendicular to the grain according to Eurocode 5 by about 40% in Series 1 and 30% in Series 2 (Table 3)
During the full-scale tests of the timber frame wall members, it was significant that the compression stresses perpendicular to the grain at the joints of the sill plates and posts were high, and that they were decisive in the failure of the whole timber frame
Summary
Light timber frame walls are recognized as a very efficient and reliable wooden structure. Their stiffness increases when they are joined with wood-based panels [1,2,3]. In designing timber frame structures, one of the most important problems is the proper verification of the stress state at the joints between the timber posts and the sill plate. The present authors discuss this problem based on the experimental results of tests carried out at the Department of Structural Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Poland. The main aim of these tests is to evaluate the compression stresses and deformations perpendicular to the grain at the sill plates of the timber frame. Selected results from testing full-scale timber frame wall members are presented.
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