Bond behaviour of self-tapping screws being used as reinforcement in glue-laminated timber elements - Part 1: Experimental investigations on self-tapping screws with continuous threads and long embedment length being used as reinforcement in glue-laminated timber elements

The use of self-tapping screws with continuous threads to reinforce and join timbers represents an effective, simple and economic method for the construction of slender and filigree timber structures. The high withdrawal resistance of the screws as well as its continuous bond with the wood enables an effect similar to steel reinforcement in concrete structures. To investigate the bond behaviour, the force transfer and the anchorage length of self-tapping screws several tests have been realized at the Chair of Structures and Structural Design in cooperation with the Institute for Building Material Research of the RWTH Aachen University. The experimental investigations include more than 160 pull-out tests of screws with long embedment length and over 84 load distributions tests. In addition, several tests displaying the effect of longitudinal cracks in the surrounding wood as well as the effect of the screw tip have been realized. Through various analyses of the bond behaviour, the experimental investigations form the basis for the calibration and evaluation of the numerical models and allow a prediction of the force transfer of the screws in glue-laminated elements. Design rules that enable the safe and economic application of the self-tapping screws as reinforcement in timber elements have been derived from the knowledge obtained in the experimental and numerical investigations. This paper, which results from a research project funded by the German Research Foundation, presents the results of investigations on the bond behavior of self-tapping screws in gluelaminated timber elements. Part 1 elaborates on the experimental investigations whereas, part 2 illustrates the numerical analyses and presents a bond model, which enables the design of the transfer length and the safe application of the screws as reinforcement in timber elements.