Experimental and numerical analysis of timber joints

In this study several timber joints were analysed using a finite element method (FEM), such as nailed joints, nail-board joints, and joints using split-ring connectors. The primary aim of the numerical analysis was to determine stress distributions near the connector and draw conclusions for the failure from knowledge of the stress distributions. During the FEM analysis contact elements were used, so that the connection between the timber material and the steel fasteners could be modelled appropriately. During our experiments several laboratory tests were carried out at the Structural Laboratory of Budapest University of Technology. Comparing the results of the numerical and experimental analyses, we can get answers to the questions of how to consider the strength anisotropy of the timber more precisely and how can we handle the peak values of stresses that were calculated.