Reliability based design of light gauge timber connectors

Joist hangers are one of the most common types of mechanical connectors used in today’s wood construction industry. Yet, testing agencies and design codes do not have a proper testing procedure and design guidelines to predict the capacity of these connectors. The exisiting design guidelines are not compatible with the current Limit States Design Code in Canada. Various issues related to the existing joist hanger test procedures were studied to identify the important criteria for possible adaptation to current Canadian design standards, while maintaining the link between testing rules and common construction practice. A list of recommendations and notes were made to act as guidelines for future modification or subsequent revision of these standards. As the main focus of this study, an analytical model which predicts the serviceability and ultimate resistances of light gauge joist hangers was developed, based on a wide-ranging series of experimental results. This was achieved by adapting analytical procedures to reflect observed failure modes in tested joist hanger assemblies, and ultimately through calibration against experimental test results. This model is suitable for load capacity calculations or for reliability studies of light gauge structural timber connectors.Applied Science, Faculty ofCivil Engineering, Department ofGraduat