Fatigue Properties of Wood Butt Joints with Metal Plate Connectors

Mechanical properties of wood butt joints with metal plate connectors have mainly been determined by static load tests. Tests to determine the fatigue properties of such joints subjected to cyclic loading (needed for determining safe design loads and for predicting the ser vice life of the joints) have been scarce. Reversed and nonreversed cyclic loading tests were therefore made on butt-jointed wood members with pressed-in type metal plate connectors. A linear relationship between load levels and number of cycles to failure up to 5 million cycles and then to a definite fatigue limit existed. The fatigue limit lay around 20 to 25 percent of the static tensile strength for nonreversed loading and 17 to 20 percent for reversed loading. The failure mode of the joints varied with load level. The teeth were pulled out of the wood when tested at high load levels, while they were sheared off at the roots when tested at low load levels.

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