Development of New Wood-Concrete Connectors

The application of timber-concrete composites (TCC) connections in structures has increased over the past decades. The mechanical behaviour of these connections is largely influenced by the stiffness of the joints, both with regard to deformations and strength. This paper presents laboratory experiments and numerical simulations using ABAQUS performed on TCC with a new connector that has been developed in our laboratory. Collapse tests of Shear (push-out) tests, four-point bending tests on beams with different configuration and spacing are carried out within the serviceability load range to verify the slip modulus of connections which were derived from the push-out tests. Although the new connection is applied on notched timber, both experiments and 3D FEM simulations showed that the new connector exhibits stronger stiffness and has a significantly higher peak force performance.in constructing both.