Pull-Out Performance of Timber Joints with Glued-In Densified Wood Dowels

Abstract

Densified wood (DW) dowel is worth considering as an alternative to steel rod for timber joints with glued-in rods, because it is more naturally harmonized with timber members, and has better resistance against corrosion and lower thermal conductivity. This paper compares the pull-out performance of timber joints with glued-in DW dowels to that of threaded steel rods, loaded parallel to the grain in two ambient environments with a temperature of 20°C and relative humidity (RH) of 65%, and with a temperature of 20°C and relative humidity of 85%. After being conditioned at a temperature of 20°C and relative humidity of 65%, the pull-out capacity of the glued-in DW dowels having an anchorage length of 10 times the dowel diameter was close to 75% of that of the glued-in threaded steel rods. The impact of service environment was found to be greater for the timber joints with glued-in threaded steel rods than the timber joints with glued-in DW dowels.