Reinforced notched cross-laminated timber plates : Load-bearing capacity and methodology for predicting the force in reinforcement

This paper deals with the estimation of the design force in self-tapping screws used as a reinforcement ofnotched cross laminated timber plates (CLT). With the reinforcement, apart from an increased load-carrying capacity, amore ductile behaviour of this detail can be achieved. An analytical model based on the Timoshenko Beam Theory wasdeveloped, enabling the estimation of the axial force in the reinforcement. A parametric numerical analysis was conductedto verify the model and to provide possible ways for the calibration. The results show a good matching of the model withthe numerical results. The load-bearing capacity is analysed using a simple fracture mechanics model taking intoconsideration the effect of the reinforcement to correctly depict the increase in performance. Theoretical and numericalresults are compared with experimental findings and show acceptable correlations encouraging a further development anda subsequent implementation in EN 1995-1-1