Block failure of a double shear timber to steel connection in tension

FACT FILE

  • Material
    Steel plate and timber
  • Design Criteria
    Designed for tensile failure in timber
  • Ultimate Load
    Approx. 380kN

This video shows the tension failure of a Class CL24 softwood timber member which has been bolted to two mild steel plates.

Learning Outcomes:

Viewers will gain an improved understanding of:

  • Bolted timber-to-steel connections
  • Brittle tension failure in timber

The plates are pulled apart subjecting the timber to a tension force. The timber-to-steel connection has been designed to ensure that failure occurs in the timber without any yielding of the steel bolts. As expected the connection experiences a sudden brittle failure in the timber due to both direct tension and splitting.

Structures expert, Doctor Christian Malaga-Chuquitaype of Imperial College, London narrates this video. Doctor Malaga-Chuquitaype is a Lecturer and Assistant Professor in the Structures Section at Imperial College’s Department of Civil Engineering.

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