Experimental investigations on row shear and splitting in bolted connections

The paper presents an experimental investigation of brittle failures in bolted timber connections loaded parallel to grain. Tests were conducted on steel–wood–steel connections with a very low slenderness ratio. Connections with a single bolt and connections with multiple bolts in a single row were tested. Brittle failures in the considered type of connections in general occur due to a combination of shear stresses and perpendicular-to-grain tensile stresses. Some already available simple analytical models for determination of shear stresses and perpendicular-to-grain tensile stresses are examined and compared with the experimental results.

Research highlights
► Mixed-mode fracture in bolted connections loaded parallel to grain.
► Distribution of fastener loads in connections with multiple bolts.
► Effectiveness of timber connections with multiple bolts loaded parallel to grain.
► Splitting of timber loaded parallel to grain by bolted connections.