Proposal for reorganization of the connections chapter of Eurocode 5

Designing a timber connection which is buildable with minimum errors has been considered the most difficult aspect of a timber design. Although many studies have been conducted in the past on various aspects of the usability of Eurocode 5, the authors felt that with the impending revisions to the Eurocodes, it was pertinent to ask the users for their opinions in a more focused manner, with questions aligned with the revision objectives. As part of the activities of the working group 3, “Connection” of the COST Action FP1402, a Europe-wide survey was thus conducted among the practitioners, where a number of questions related to Eurocode 5 in general and the connections chapter in particular was asked. The majority of respondents felt there were improvements to be made both to the technical content, as well as the usability of the standard in terms of clarity and ease of navigation. The results of the survey are summarized in this paper with a proposal for reorganization of the current technical content, which the authors feel answer the majority of the concerns raised by the users.