Experimental assessment of a novel steel tube connector in cross-laminated timber

This paper summarises experimental investigations conducted on a novel connector assembly consisting of hollow steel tubes placed inside cross-laminated timber panels. The criteria that drove the connector development were: (i) easy to manufacture and install; (ii) high capacity, stiffness, and ductility; and (iii) neglectable damage to the timber. A total of 24 test assemblies with varying steel tube diameters (ranging from two to four inch) were tested using quasi-static monotonic and reversed cyclic loading. The results demonstrated that - when using an appropriate connection layout - the desired ductile steel yielding failure mechanism was initiated and wood crushing of any form was avoided. The tested configurations reached load-carrying capacities up to 58 kN, exhibited high stiffness (>15 kN/mm), and were classified as moderately to highly ductile. The research presented herein demonstrated that this novel connection assembly for cross-laminated timber panels can be utilized in seismic regions.