Performance of timber moment connections with a decoupled mechanism: Glued-in rods for moment and dowels for shear

Mass timber construction has created a growing need for high-performance moment-resisting connections, particularly in tall building design. Although glued-in rod (GIR) connections provide superior strength and aesthetic benefits, their performance under combined loading poses significant challenges. This study presents an innovative moment connection system that strategically uncouples moment and shear resistance through the integration of GIRs and a dowelled connection. The proposed system employs slotted holes to decouple GIRs from shear forces, enabling them to primarily resist moments, while a dowelled connection determining the proposed system achieved 30.8 % higher moment capacity than conventional GIR connections, while maintaining comparable deformation capacity. Both connection types exhibited ductile behavior through controlled yielding of GIRs, successfully protecting the brittle timber elements. An analytical model developed based on the transformed section method showed good agreement with the experimental results, with differences of 0.7 %, 7.0 %, and −1.9 % for rotational stiffness, yield moment, and ultimate moment capacity, respectively. The decoupling of force-resisting elements not only enhanced structural performance but also enabled reliable prediction of connection behavior using well-established GIR withdrawal properties, offering a practical solution for moment-resisting timber connections.