Use of the FRP plates instead of steel sheets in the joints of wooden structures

Abstract

The use of steel plates in the joints of wooden structures is a common practice. However, because of the presence of natural moisture in the wood, steel sheets are easily corroded, and for this reason, the wood near the joints decays over time and thus, shortens the life of wooden structures. This study examines the feasibility of using noncorrosive fibre reinforced plastics (FRP) instead of steel plates applied in different joint areas of wooden structures, in terms of mechanical strength. In the study, six samples were tested with five different joint types, four different materials and two different experiments. As a result, it was found that besides many physical advantages of FRP, the strength of the carbon fibre reinforced plastic samples exceeded that of the samples reinforced with steel sheets by 50%, and the strength of the glass fibre reinforced plastic samples reached 70% of the strength of samples reinforced with steel sheets.