Wood Block Tear-Out Resistance and Failure Modes of Timber Rivet Connections: A Stiffness-Based Approach

Existing prediction models for parallel to grain wood failure in timber connections using dowel-type fasteners consider the minimum, maximum, or summation of the tensile and shear capacities of the failed wood block planes. This results in disagreements between the experimental values and the predictions because the stiffness of the tensile and shear planes differs, which leads to uneven load distribution among the resisting planes. The present study focuses on timber rivet connections. A closed-form analytical method is proposed to determine the load-carrying capacity of wood under longitudinal loading in rivet connections in timber products. For the wood strength, the stiffness and strength of the planes subjected to nonuniform shear and tension stresses are taken into account. Furthermore, an algorithm is presented that allows the designer to predict the possible brittle, ductile, and mixed failure modes. The results of tests on New Zealand Radiata Pine Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) and glulam, and data available from the literature, confirm the validity of this new method and show that this predictive method can be used advantageously in comparison with other existing models.