Chapter 11

11.1 Introduction

The proper design of connections plays a critical role in the overall performance of wood structures. Post-
disaster surveys following earthquakes and hurricanes have repeatedly shown that structural failures often
occur due to inadequately designed or improperly fabricated connections.

The NDS presents an engineering mechanics approach for the design of later- ally loaded connections known
as the yield limit model for dowel-type fasteners. The yield limit model is equally applicable for connection
design in either allow- able stress design (ASD) or load and resistance factor design (LRFD). The primary
differences between ASD and LRFD from the standpoint of the designer involve the use of a format
conversion factor KF and resistance factor 􏰕 for LRFD, and the use of a time effect factor 􏰕 for LRFD instead of
the load duration factor CD for ASD.

11.2 Types of Fasteners and Connections

There are a wide variety of fasteners and many different types of joint details that can be used in wood
connections. When structural members are attached

with fasteners or some other type of hardware, the joint is said to be a mechanical connection.

Mechanical connections are distinguished from connections made with adhesives. Adhesives are normally
used in a controlled environment, such as a glulam, plywood, structural composite lumber, or wood I-joist
manufacturing plant under the control of a formal quality assurance program.

Connections are generally classified according to the direction of loading. Shear connections have the load
applied perpendicular to the length of the fastener. These connections are further classified as to the number
of shear planes. The most common applications are single shear and double shear, but additional shear planes
are possible.

The second major type of loading in a wood connection has the applied load parallel to the length of the
fastener, and the fastener is loaded in tension.

Compression perpendicular to grain under the head of a bolt or lag bolt is a normal design consideration. A
washer or plate of sufficient size must be provided between the wood member and the fastener head so that
the adjusted bearing design value Fcr'is not exceeded.

The notation system for fastener design is based on the two types of loading just described. The following
symbols are used:

Z = reference design value for single fastener subjected to lateral shear load

W = reference design value for single fastener subjected to withdrawal load

Adjustment factors for load duration (ASD) or time effect (LRFD), moisture content conditions, temperature,
and a number of other design considerations may be required to convert the reference design value to an
adjusted design value for a single fastener. A prime is added to the symbol to indicate that the appro- priate
adjustments have been applied:

Z’ = Z x (product of applicable adjustment factors for shear connection)

 W’ = W x (product of applicable adjustment factors for withdrawal connection)

Wood screws are similar to lag bolts, but wood screws are smaller in diame- ter, have a slightly tapered shank,
and do not have a hex (or square) bolt head. Wood screws are inserted with a screwdriver or screw gun, but
lag bolts are installed with a wrench. Wood screws have adjusted design values for lateral load comparable to
nails.

Metal plate connectors are frequently found in wood buildings that use pre- fabricated light-frame wood
trusses.

Metal plate connectors are light-gage metal plates that connect the truss members together. Metal plate
connectors are also known as nail plates or truss plates.

The load capacity of a particular type of truss plate is determined by testing, and the load rating is usually
given in pounds per square inch of contact area between the metal plate and the wood member.

Timber rivets (also called glulam rivets) are a type of fastener introduced in the 1997 edition of the NDS. The
reader should not confuse a timber rivet with a rivet in steel construction. They do not look anything alike.

The cross- sectional dimensions are approximately 1/8 in. by 1/4 in., and rivet lengths range from 11/2 in. to
31/2 in. Timber rivets are driven with a hammer through predrilled holes in steel side plates.

Drift bolts and drift pins are unthreaded steel rods that are driven into a hole bored through one wood
member and into the adjacent member. Spike grids are intended for use in wood pile and pole construction.

11.3 Yield Model for Laterally Loaded Fasteners

These studies concluded that an engineering mechanics approach based on yield limit theory is appropriate
for analyzing dowel-type fasteners in wood connections (Refs. 11.7 and 11.10).

A dowel is traditionally thought to be a cylindrical rod of wood or metal that is placed in a hole which has
been drilled in a wood member or members. However, in the context of the NDS, the term dowel-type fastener
simply refers to fasteners with a generally cylindrical shape such as bolts, screws, and nails.

In utilizing the yield limit theory, the various yield modes that can occur in a given type of connection are
analyzed. A load capacity is computed for each of the various modes. The yield limit is then taken as the
smallest of these load capacities. This critical load defines the yield mechanism for the connection.

An engineering mechanics approach to connection design, such as the yield limit model, has both advantages
and disadvantages. The principal advantage is that the designer can mathematically analyze a connection of
practically any configuration.

In addition, the yield limit model is able to take into account the strengths of different fastener materials. In
the older empirical method, a certain fastener strength was simply presumed

On the negative side, the application of the yield model to connection design can involve the use of some
rather cumbersome equations. The number of equations varies depending on whether the fastener is in
single shear or double shear.
11.4 Factors Affecting Strength in Yield Model

The yield limit model for dowel-type fasteners is based upon engineering mechanics, and it uses connection
geometry and material properties to evaluate strength. The primary factors used to compute the reference
design value Z include

1. Fastener diameter D
2. Dowel bearing length l
3. Fastener bending yield strength Fyb

4. Dowel bearing strength of wood member Fe

a. Specific gravity (dry) of wood member G
b. Angle of load to grain for wood member 􏰕
c. Relative size of fastener (large or small diameter)

5. In the case of metal side plates, the dowel bearing strength Fe of the metal

The bending yield strength of the fastener Fyb is a property that is used to predict the load capacity of a
mechanism that involves the formation of a plastic hinge (Sec. 11.6) in the fastener.

The dowel bearing strength Fe is the strength property of the members in a connection that resists embedding
of a dowel.

In wood design, the value of Fe depends on a number of different factors

Because Fe depends on the specific gravity of the wood, one way to have different dowel bearing strength in
the same connection is to have main and side members from different species.

The dowel bearing strength for a wood member is greatest when the load is parallel to the grain and weakest
for a load perpendicular to the grain. For inter- mediate angles, the bearing strength lies between the parallel-
and perpendicular-to-grain values.

Other factors apply only for specific design procedures (e.g., the load duration factor CD for ASD, versus the
time effect factor 􏰕 for LRFD). In par- ticular, the format conversion factor KF and the resistance factor 􏰕z
apply only for LRFD and have the same magnitude for all types of fasteners in the NDS:

z = 0.65
KF = 2.16/z = 3.32

11.5 Dowel Bearing Strength

The property of wood that affects the reference design value Z of a nail, bolt, or lag bolt is known as dowel
bearing strength.

Tests have shown that the dowel bearing strengths for large-diameter fasteners depend on the angle of load
to grain. Consequently, there is one formula for dowel bearing strength for parallel-to-grain loading (Fe􏰕􏰕)
and another for per- pendicular-to-grain loading (Fe⊥). For intermediate angles of load to grain, the
Hankinson formula is used to obtain a dowel bearing strength (Fe􏰕) that lies between Fe􏰕􏰕 and Fe⊥.
The yield limit model is capable of handling a wide variety of wood connections including those in which the
main and side members have different dowel bearing strengths.

In the case of a connection between a wood member and a metal side plate, it is necessary to have the
equivalent of an embedding strength value for the metal member. Steel design standards specify bearing
strength of 2.4 times the ultimate tensile strength (2.4Fu) for hot-rolled steel plates (Ref. 11.3) and 2.2 times
the ultimate tensile strength (2.2Fu) for cold-formed steel plates (Ref. 11.5). As noted in NDS Appendix I, steel
bearing strengths are reduced by a factor of 1.6 to obtain dowel bearing strengths Fe that can be used directly
in NDS yield limit equations. The 1.6 reduction factor permits Fe values for steel to be used in conjunction with
applicable load duration or time effect factors for wood members in a connection. Thus, the dowel bearing
strengths for steel members in connections are Fe = 1.5Fu for hot-rolled steel plates and Fe = 1.375Fu for cold-
formed steel plates. In general, steel plates with thickness less than 1/4 in. are assumed to be cold-formed
steel, and plates with thickness greater than or equal to 1/4 in. are assumed to be hot-rolled steel.

Wood structural panels such as plywood and OSB may include plies from a single species group or from
multiple species groups. Preliminary research (Ref. 11.7) indicates that when all plies are from the same
species group, the dowel bearing strength for a small-diameter fastener (D’=0.25 in.) in plywood can be
obtained from the formula given in Example 11.4. However, often the species make up of plywood or OSB
panels is not known by designers. According to NDS Table 11.3.2B, Fe = 4650 psi and G = 0.5 can be
conservatively used for all grades of OSB and for STRUCTURAL I or Marine grades of plywood. For all other
grades of plywood, Fe = 3350 psi and G = 0.42 should be used. These Fe values are based on dowel bearing
tests for nails in panel products conducted by APA— The Engineered Wood Association.

11.6 Plastic Hinge in Fastener

Dowel bearing strength is the primary measure of strength of the wood members in a connection. In addition
to this, the strength of the fastener can affect the yield limit mechanism of a connection.

Consider what happens to the member as the load is increased to the point where the bending stress reaches
yield Fy at the outside fibers. The beam does not collapse simply because the outer fibers in the member reach
Fy. In fact, the member can carry additional load beyond this point as inner portions of the cross section reach
yield. Because of the ductile nature of the material, this behavior continues until the entire section yields.

A plastic hinge corresponds to a rectangular bending stress block in which all of the fibers have reached the
yield stress Fy. By definition, a real hinge is a structural element that does not transmit moment. In contrast, a
plastic hinge develops the plastic moment capacity Mp of the cross section. However, once Mp is reached at the
point of local maximum moment, additional bending moment cannot be developed by the member. Thus, a
plastic hinge functions similar to a real hinge as far as additional loading is concerned.

Now that the concept of a plastic hinge has been introduced, the idea of a failure mechanism can be addressed
in more detail. In a steel beam, a failure mechanism is a structural form that cannot support a load. It is
characterized by large, unbounded displacements. In a beam or similar structure, the failure mechanism is
associated with the collapse load.

The first plastic hinge logically occurs at the point of maximum moment. However, the first plastic hinge does
not produce a failure mechanism. For additional loading (beyond the loading required to cause the first
plastic hinge), the beam appears to be a member that is pinned at both ends. There is a real hinge at one end
of the member and a plastic hinge at the other end. A collapse mechanism with three hinges in line requires
the formation of a second plastic hinge. The second plastic hinge develops under the concentrated load.
Another difference is that the mechanism in a wood connection is not that of a structural steel beam. The
behavior of a dowel-type fastener is more complex. In addition, there is a reserve capacity in a wood
connection; hence, the term yield limit is applied to wood connections rather than collapse load.

11.7 Yield Limit Mechanisms

The yield modes are common to all dowel- type connections, and the yield limit mechanisms described here
will be referenced in subsequent chapters. Some modes that apply to single-shear (two-member) connections
do not occur in double-shear (three-member) connections because of the symmetric loading that takes place
in double-shear connections.

Mode I: Dowel bearing failure under uniform bearing. The bearing stress for Mode I yielding is uniform
because in this yield mechanism the fastener does not rotate or bend. The dowel bearing strength of a wood
member is simply exceeded under uniform bearing. The possibility of Mode I yielding must be considered in
each wood member in the connection. Consequently, a Mode I mechanism is further classified as Mode I m if
the dowel bearing strength is exceeded in the main member. If the overstress occurs in the side member, the
mechanism is Mode Is.

Mode II: Dowel bearing failure under nonuniform bearing. The second principal yield mechanism also
causes the dowel bearing strength to be exceeded.

Mode III: Plastic hinge located near each shear plane. In a Mode III mechanism, the dowel bends and a
plastic hinge forms in the fastener. In a single-shear connection, the plastic hinge can occur within the side
member or the main member, near the shear plane. There are two yield limit equations associated with Mode
III, and the mechanisms are further classified as Mode III m and Mode IIIs.

Mode IV: Two plastic hinges near each shear plane. The final mechanism covered by the yield model
involves the formation of two plastic hinges at each shear plane.

The yield limit model for fasteners thus covers four general modes of yielding. In a single-shear connection,
Mode I and Mode III can occur in either the main member or side member, and these bring the total possible
number of yield mechanisms to six.

In practice, the designer will establish a trial configuration for a particular wood connection. This defines the
geometry and strength parameters for use in determining the reference design value Z for a single fastener.