This paper presents an investigation of the load-slip behaviour of aluminium-timber composite connections. Toothed plates with bolts are often used for connecting timber structural members with steel structural members. In this paper, toothed plates (C2-50/M10G, C2-50/M12G or C11-50/M12) have been used as reinforcement in aluminium-timber screwed connections for the first time. The push-out test specimens consisted of laminated veneer lumber slabs, aluminium alloy beams, and hexagon head wood screws (10 mm × 80 mm and 12 mm × 80 mm). Of the specimens, 12 additionally had toothed plates as reinforcement, while 8 had no reinforcement. The load carrying-capacity, the mode of failure and the load-slip response of the strengthened and non-strengthened screwed connections were investigated. The use of toothed plate connectors was found to be effective in increasing the strength of aluminium-timber composite connections and ineffective in improving their stiffness. The examined stiffness and strength of the connections can be used in the design and numerical modelling of aluminium-timber composite beams with reinforced screwed connections.

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The present study focused on the behaviour of the AW-6060 aluminium alloy in peak temper condition T6 under a wide range of loads: tensile loading, projectile and explosion. The alloy is used as a structural component of civil engineering structures exposed to static or dynamic loads. Therefore, it was crucial to determine the material’s behaviour at low and intermediate rates of deformation. Despite the fact that the evaluation of the strain rate sensitivity of the AW-6060 aluminium alloy has already been discussed in literature, the authors of this paper wished to further investigate this topic. They conducted tensile tests and confirmed the thesis that the AW-6060 T6 aluminium alloy has low strain rate sensitivity at room temperature. In addition, the fracture surfaces subjected to different loading (tensile loading, projectile and explosion) were investigated and compared using a scanning electron microscope, because the authors of this paper were trying to develop a new methodology for predicting how samples had been loaded before failure occurred based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs. Projectile and explosion tests were performed mainly for the SEM observation of the fracture surfaces. These tests were unconventional and they represent the originality of this research. It was found that the type of loading had an impact on the fracture surface.

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