Numerical analysis of timber-to-timber joints and composite beams with inclined self-tapping screws

In this paper, a Finite-Element (FE) numerical investigation on timber-to-timber joints and composite beams with inclined self-tapping screws (STSs) is presented. Based on past experimental data and numerical literature efforts, full 3D solid FE models of selected geometrical and mechanical configurations of technical interest are implemented in ABAQUS software package and analysed under static loading conditions. The typical push-out samples include GL24h timber members with several types (WT-T-8.2, 190 mm and 220 mm their length), layouts (2 + 2, 4 + 4, 2 + 2 X-shaped) and inclination of screws (up to ±45°). For the full-scale beam samples in bending (8 m their span), composite systems consisting of GL24h timber beam, wooden plank, spruce floorboards and STSs are investigated. There, the STS joints take the form of two-rows or X-shaped connections, respectively (45° or 90° their inclination), including four screw types and different spacing. In both the push-out and full-scale cases, simple modelling approaches are taken from the ABAQUS library and adapted to the timber-to-timber structural system under investigation, so as to explore their structural performance in the elastic and post-damage phases, up to failure. A key role in the typical FE models is assigned to input material properties and mechanical contacts, including damage constitutive laws so as to reproduce possible local failure phenomena in the timber or steel components, as well as cohesive damage interactions for the joints. The presented FE models are calibrated in accordance with past research studies, and validated – for the examined structural typology – against experimental results available in literature. Comparative calculations are hence presented, based on the collected numerical, experimental and analytical estimations for the selected samples. As shown, the examined modelling approach can reasonably capture the expected performance of timber-to-timber joints and composite systems.