This project was initiated to facilitate the growing wood utilization in non-residential construction in Québec. The use of timber in non-residential sector in Canada lags behind that of Europe. The reasons are the lack of codified design procedures for innovative fasteners and the lack of trained design professionals ready to use them. The project presents the findings of several experimental programs studying the performance of innovative and traditional dowel-type fasteners in Canadian sawn timber and structural glulam. The main objective was to provide professionals with technical information for the efficient design of fastenings in timber structures. Such information will facilitate the code approval of new fasteners and improve the design rules for fastenings in the CSA O86 wood design standard.
The project mobilized the scientific expertise in Québec including Professor A. Salenikovich of Université Laval, Professor C. Rogers of McGill University, and Dr. M. Mohammad of FPInnovations. The research team established collaboration with industrial partners including Chantiers de Chibougamau, Timber Systems Limited, SFSintec and other producers, who provided the test materials and fasteners along with the necessary expertise from the producer's and the user's prospective. This partnership program increased the research capacity in the area of structural wood products through the training of four master's students and seven student interns. The research funding supported cooperation with the local wood industry and with the foreign manufacturers of advanced fastening systems, which contributed to strengthening those enterprises that focus on the development of new technologies and the economic development of the region.
As a result of the study, new experimental data on the performance of coarse threaded screws of different sizes and diameters was generated for Canadian wood species in various service conditions. The influence of various factors, such as service conditions and rate of loading on strength, stiffness and ductility of dowel-type connections was investigated. All these findings serve the development of design recommendations for the new fasteners and support the revision of the existing rules for dowel-type fasteners in the Canadian wood design standard. The obtained information has been and will continue being disseminated among researchers and designers through technical publications, training, design examples, seminars, workshops and conferences.
Main researcher: Alexander Salenikovich, Université Laval
Original title: Évaluation de la performance des connecteurs innovateurs de type goujon pour les charpentes en bois
