Ductility of timber joints under static and cyclic loads

The paper illustrates recent research on timber joints assembled with traditional and innovative dowel-type connectors. The experimental results are presented in terms of force–displacement relationships for specimens tested under a monotonic procedure and hysteretic diagrams for specimens tested under the cyclic procedure. The aim is to determine some quantitative values from the experimental data in order to characterise the ductility and dissipation capability of timber joints while taking account of design standards for earthquake-resistant structures. The paper presents and discusses procedures for the analysis of experimental data proposed in test standards and the scientific literature, the purpose being to evaluate the ability of current procedures to mechanically characterise a joint's behaviour as a function of different kinds of connector – traditional dowel-type systems or innovative self-tapping screws inserted with different inclinations with respect to the shear plane. For some cases, alternative more robust procedures are proposed, especially where a lack of consistency in the current standard procedures was noted.