Splitting capacity of Eucalyptus globulus beams loaded perpendicular to the grain by connections

Abstract

In timber structures, knowledge of the splitting capacity of beams loaded perpendicular to the grain by dowel-type connections is of primordial importance since brittle failure can occur. In the present work, single- and double-dowel-type connections following different loaded edged distance arrangements are experimentally investigated to derive the splitting behaviour of Eucalyptus globulus L., which is a hardwood species of increasing interest for structural use due to its high mechanical performance, fast growth, and good natural durability. The correlation of experimental failure loads with those theoretically predicted by the expression included in Eurocode 5 and by eight analytical models based on an energetic approach is discussed. Most of the analytical models studied overpredict the splitting capacity. However, the code splitting expression, derived from softwoods, proves to be very conservative in predicting the eucalyptus splitting failure load.

Shear traction‐separation laws of European beech under mode II loading by 3D digital image correlation

“…In the context of timber structures, there are common design situations where brittle failures can occur due to stress concentrations, for example, in beams with holes, joints, notched beams, etc. (Ardalany et al 2016;Dourado et al 2018;Majano-Majano et al 2022) producing critical situations that require special attention. Therefore, it is necessary to establish adequate failure criteria and to accurately characterise the fracture properties of the material.…”