Strength characterization of wood to wood connections using stress field analysis
Name
958144125-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
8.72 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
3f8ad5db5b3adaf89c12c0d56c9ba661
Author(s)
Shope, Mitchell G. (Mitchell Grafton)
Advisor(s)
John Ochsendorf and Corentin Fivet.
Date Issued
2016
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Minimizing construction cost and material usage are two dominant aspects in structural design. As a building material, timber presents a cheap, renewable option. However, current practice favors steel connections for wood structures. Wood to wood connections offer a solution to the minimization of steel connections. While some wood-only connections are referenced in timber codes, small modifications to these designs as well as a multitude of other possible connection types are yet to be characterized. This thesis analyzes wood to wood joints with stress fields. Stress field analyses may quickly and easily enable the design of timber joints and characterize the maximum loads they can handle. First, this thesis surveys and interconnects the theoretical concepts of wood behavior, plastic design, stress fields, and graphic statics. Additionally, this thesis tests these relationships empirically by load testing a designed double-birdsmouth connection and observing inconsistencies between the theoretical stress field model, code-required strength, and physical tests. The thesis shows that stress fields are a suitable design approach when considering the design of this wood-wood joint. The results also show that careful consideration must be attributed to the material properties of the wood as well as the possible failure modes. This thesis finally shows that shear failure should be checked in addition to compressive and tensile failure and provides a quick method to ensure a safe design.
Description
Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2016.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 69-70).
Subjects
Civil and Environmental Engineering.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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