Flexural behavior of timber-steel composite beams using mechanical fasteners for heritage and multi-storey building applications

This study evaluates the structural behavior of timber-steel composite beams assembled with mechanical connections: steel nails and self-drilling screws. The study is to enhance the load-bearing capacity of wooden components in wooden muiti-storey buildings and the renovation of heritage architectural structures. Many early 20th-century Asian wooden structures exhibit deficiencies, requiring reinforcement, for which the timber-steel composite structure offers a solution by combining the lightweight and renewable properties of wood with the strength and ductility of steel. Full bending tests have been conducted with flat steel plates or I-shaped steel cores, connected by various types of bolts. I-shaped steel cores and self-drilling screws achieved 4 times greater load-bearing capacity and 3.6 times higher stiffness compared to unreinforced specimens. The study enhances structural stability in both the preservation of ancient wooden structures and the development of Vietnam modern construction infrastructure using wood.