Improved performance of reinforced rounded dovetail joints

Published Date
Construction and Building Materials
15 August 2016, Vol.118:262–267, doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.05.038

Author 

• Thomas Tannert 

• Wood Science and Civil Engineering, The University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver BC V6T1Z4, Canada

Received 12 February 2016. Revised 2 May 2016. Accepted 3 May 2016. Available online 14 May 2016. 

Highlights

• •
  Rounded Dovetail Joints (RDJ) are a viable option to connect timber members.
• •
  Structural performance of hand- and machine routed joints is similar.
• •
  Design equation for RDJ yields conservative predictions.
• •
  RDJ performance can be improved through reinforcements.

Abstract

The paper presents experimental investigations on different methods to increase the stiffness of Rounded Dovetail Joints (RDJs). Departing from a reference geometry, the specific methods were (i) oversizing the dovetail tenon part for a tighter fit; (ii) reinforcement with self-tapping screws; (iii) reinforcement with an adhesive layer; and (iv) a combination of adhesive layer and self-tapping screws. The specimens from the reinforced test series were compared to regular RDJ specimens and to beam to joist connections by means of self-tapping screws only. It was demonstrated that all methods significantly increased the joint stiffness of RDJs. Furthermore, the research showed that there is no difference in structural performance between hand-routed joints and CNC-routed joints, and that a previously suggested design equation for RDJs yields conservative predictions when compared to the experimentally obtained 5th percentile values.

Keywords

Timber joints

Reinforcements

Failure modes

Capacity

Stiffness

Statistics

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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950061816307607