Splitting capacity of Eucalyptus globulus beams loaded perpendicular to the grain by connections

• Published in: Materials and structures 2022-06, Vol.55 (5), Article 147
• Main Authors: Majano-Majano, Almudena, Lara-Bocanegra, Antonio José, Xavier, José, Guaita, Manuel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Building codes; Building construction; Building Materials; Civil Engineering; Dowels; Engineering; Eucalyptus; Failure load; Machines; Manufacturing; Materials Science; Mathematical models; Mechanical properties; Original Article; Processes; Softwoods; Solid Mechanics; Splitting; Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; Wooden structures
• ISSN: 1359-5997; 1871-6873
• DOI: 10.1617/s11527-022-01983-z

In timber structures, knowledge of the splitting capacity of beams loaded perpendicular to the grain by dowel-type connections is of primordial importance since brittle failure can occur. In the present work, single- and double-dowel-type connections following different loaded edged distance arrangements are experimentally investigated to derive the splitting behaviour of Eucalyptus globulus L., which is a hardwood species of increasing interest for structural use due to its high mechanical performance, fast growth, and good natural durability. The correlation of experimental failure loads with those theoretically predicted by the expression included in Eurocode 5 and by eight analytical models based on an energetic approach is discussed. Most of the analytical models studied overpredict the splitting capacity. However, the code splitting expression, derived from softwoods, proves to be very conservative in predicting the eucalyptus splitting failure load.