An innovative shear-tension angle bracket for Cross-Laminated Timber structures: Experimental tests and numerical modelling

An experimental testing programme on an innovative metal angle bracket for Cross-Laminated Timber structures is presented in this paper. The main novelty of the angle bracket is the use of fully-threaded screws to improve mechanical properties in tension direction. Monotonic tests to evaluate mechanical properties of the wall-tofloor connection in tension and shear directions are presented and discussed. A detailed three-dimensional finite element model, implemented in ABAQUS, which considers the typical non-linear behaviour of fasteners in timber element, is presented and used to reproduce the experimental results. The group effect and strength domain of the fasteners are also analysed. The finite element model can predict experimental results when the group effect and strength domain of the fasteners are taken into account. Finally, the finite element model was used to numerically analyse the effect of inclined loads and evaluate the strength domain of the innovative angle bracket.