Experimental study of the pull-out resistance of alternative high-strength fasteners for wood-based materials

More curtain-wall facings are fastened non-visibly to create a uniform building surface. As a consequence of bigger panels and the invisible attachment, the load effects on the fasteners and the fixing areas of the panels are increased. These include the tare weight and the tensile load due to the wind load. Therefore, this study assessed the tensile load of novel fasteners in two different wood materials. A new facade panel material is high-pressure laminate. It consists of cellulose layers soaked in epoxy resin. The second tested material was a modified pine wood, which is produced by impregnation and subsequent heat-curing. It is comparable to highly durable tropical wood. The survey focused on three alternative fixing materials such as screw inserts, drive-in nuts and undercut anchors. The pull-out resistance and failure pattern of the specimens with an alternative fastener are compared to those with wood screws. Furthermore, it was tested whether different temperatures between -20 degrees C and +80 degrees C have an impact on it. The results demonstrate that the alternative fasteners are much more effective than normal wood screws. The pull-out resistance out of the same thin plate material was up to four times higher.