Ductility of dowelled New Zealand Douglas-Fir CLT connections under monotonic and cyclic loading

Abstract

Cross-laminated Timber (CLT) is gaining popularity in Australasia as a building material for multi-storey structures. For multi-storey timber buildings located in seismic areas, designing strong but ductile hold-downs for CLT shear walls can be challenging and requires careful structural connection design. In this study, dowelled connections in New Zealand Douglas-Fir (D.Fir) CLT with inserted steel plates were experimentally investigated as a solution for hold-downs in multi-storey timber buildings. The dowel group spacing was varied for CLT3 (3-ply, 135 mm thick), CLT5 (5-ply, 175 mm thick) and CLT7 (7-ply, 275 mm thick) D.Fir CLT to investigate the spacing impact on ductility of the hold-down connections under both monotonic and quasi-static cyclic loading. These results were also compared with past similar testing of dowelled connections in 5-ply (150 mm) Radiata Pine CLT. A total of 12 monotonic and 36 quasi-static cyclic tests were carried out and it was observed that increased dowel spacing increases ductility with similar strength when compared to past more dense dowel spacing tests. Furthermore, to deter the onset of tension perpendicular to grain brittle failure, fully threaded screws and nuts were added to the dowelled connection and the impact of this is discussed.