Lateral and withdrawal load resistance of glulam rivet connections made with sawn timber

The efficiency of glulam rivets has made them one of the most suitable connectors in heavy timber construction utilizing glued-laminated timber (glulam) members. Starting with the 1994 version of the CSA Standard for Engineering Design in Wood, design procedures are also available for the use of glulam rivet connections with sawn timbers. In the course of formulating these design provisions, several series of lateral resistance and withdrawal tests were performed using glulam rivets with sawn timbers to study the effects of material (sawn timber versus glulam), species, loading type and direction, environmental conditions, density, waiting period between assembly and test, pre-drilling, and plate thickness. The newly added design provisions increase structural engineers' choice of fastening systems in timber construction.