Experimental and numerical investigations of a timber-concrete dovetail splice joint

Cross-laminated timber panels offer an effective option for timber structures; they allow biaxial load transfer and have good dimensional stability. However, practical transportation and handling limits size of the panel and a stiff connection between the panels is required to effectively utilise biaxial properties. In this paper, a dovetail splice joint for timber panels is presented using cross-banded LVL with cast concrete grout interlayer. The interlayer allows a tight fit, which is important for stiffness, but also avoiding installation problems due to manufacturing tolerances and moisture-induced dimensional changes. The mechanical behaviour of the dovetail joint was investigated experimentally for various geometries. Furthermore, a numerical model was developed that shows a wide agreement with the experiments, especially in the cases with governing failure in the LVL. Using the numerical model, a parameter study was performed where the influence of the connection length (number of dovetails) and the joint geometry on the strength and stiffness properties was investigated. Besides the optimal geometrical configurations of the dovetail joint, also a significant increase of the strength and stiffness properties with increasing connection length was identified.