Punched metal plate timber fasteners under fatigue loading

Abstract A series of uniaxial cyclic loading tests have been carried out on two types of punched metal plate timber fasteners to investigate and establish their failure criterion, provide a better understanding of their mechanism of failure and set a firm basis for optimum design of these types of joint. The mode of failure was found to be somehow different for different types of joint, whereas the initial slip values were found to be the same for both joints. Slip remained constant for one type of joint and increased with increasing number of cycles for the other type. The strain distribution across the steel plate was found to be maximum at the centre and minimum at the edges. It was concluded that present methods and procedures for punched metal plate timber fastener evaluation and design are not entirely integral and require further tests combined with rigorous analytical work.