Cyclic Load Behavior of Bolted Timber Joint

Tests investigating the fatigue performance of a bolted timber buttsplice connection containing wood splits are presented. Relationships of compressive axial load to joint slip at the bolt nut and of load to average and relative joint slip relationships are studied to explain the fatigue failure of this type of joint when cyclic loads are involved. None of the three joint slips alone was sufficient to indicate when a particular joint would fail; however, considering the interaction between the joint slip at the bolt nut and the relative joint slip between the bolt nut and head allowed a failure hypothesis to be established. The test results indicate that the fatigue resistance of the connection is more adversely affected when a split is located near the bolt hole on the bolt‐head side of the connection than when a post has no splits or has splits located near the bolt hole on the nut side of the connection.