Interface shear capacity of veneer-based cross-laminated timber glued-in rod splice connections
Abstract
North America’s engineered mass timber sector has expanded rapidly in the past decade, with growing adoption of mass timber products as structural components in tall buildings. Among these, mass timber panels have emerged as viable shear wall elements for lateral force-resisting systems. In taller balloon-type or self-centering rocking wall constructions, panels are stacked vertically, necessitating reliable splice connections between adjacent panels. This paper introduces a novel glued-in rod (GiR) splice connection for vertical joints between stacked panels, featuring a two-stage adhesive installation process and a filler/weep hole system designed to promote full adhesive penetration and accommodate construction tolerances. An experimental program was conducted to evaluate the interface shear strength of GiRs embedded in veneer-based cross-laminated timber under both monotonic and reversed-cyclic loading. Unlike previous studies that focused on tensile strength or monotonic loading only, this work investigates shear behavior relevant to seismic and wind demands. Experimental results are compared against conservative yield strength predictions from the U.S. National Design Specification for Wood Construction (NDS) dowel-type equations. Findings offer new insights into the shear performance of GiR splices in veneer-based cross-laminated timber, informing design assumptions for vertical panel joints in balloon-type mass timber wall systems and providing experimentally validated allowable loads for seismic design.
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