Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mechanical performance of dovetail joint related to the global stiffness of timber roof structures

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Materials and Structures Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper focuses on analyzing mechanical behavior of dovetail joints with certain geometries and manufacturing imperfections subjected to different loadings. Parameters such as tension stiffness, strength and rotational stiffness are verified using experimental tests. It was found that steeper angle between mortise-tenon contact areas provides significantly higher stiffness of the joint. Another part of the paper focuses on examining influence of manufacturing precision on mechanical performance of dovetail joints. It is found that small gaps up to 2 mm between mortise-tenon contact areas have negligible impact on dovetail performance while gaps of 5 mm may slightly influence joint’s performance by reducing joint’s tensional stiffness by 30 % and strength by 13 %. Furthermore, numerical models of full scale timber frames are constructed and dovetail joints in these models are assigned parameters resulting from experimental testing. Influence of dovetail’s tensional and rotational stiffness on global behavior of timber trusses is examined and it is concluded that rigid hinges carrying no moment can be used for modeling dovetail joints in full scale timber frames. Finally, it is concluded that precise analysis of dovetail’s parameters does not have to be performed when examining global quasistatic behavior of timber structures as these parameters have low impact on structural behavior of the whole construction. Tensional stiffness of dovetail can be used for estimating maximum allowable displacement of tenon for on-site health monitoring of historical dovetail connections.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Branco JM, Piazza M, Cruz PJS (2011) Experimental evaluation of different strengthening techniques of traditional timber connections. Eng Struct 33:2259–2270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Bulleit WM, Bogue Sandberg L, Drewek Matthew W, O’Bryant Tonia L (1999) behavior and modeling of wood-pegged timber frames. J Struct Eng 125(1):3–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Chang W-S, Hsu M-F, Komatsu K (2006) Rotational performance of traditional Nuki joints with gap I: theory and verification. J Wood Sci 52(1):58–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Chang W-S, Hsu M-F (2007) Rotational performance of traditional Nuki joints with gap II: the behavior of butted Nuki joint and its comparison with continuous Nuki joint. J Wood Sci 53(5):401–407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Garbin E, Valluzzi MR, Modena C (2006) Characterization of a dovetail joint for timber roofs. In: Proceedings of WCTE 2006—9th World conference on timber engineering, Portland

  6. Jeong GY, Park M-J, Hwang KH, Park JS (2012) Effects of geometry on mechanical behavior of dovetail connection. In: Proceedings WCTE, Auckland, pp 574–581

  7. Jandejsek I, Nachtrab F, Uhlmann N, Vavřík D (2011) X-ray dynamic defectoscopy utilizing digital image correlation. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res A 633(May):185–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Palma P, Garcia H, Ferreira J, Appleton J, Cruz H (2012) Behaviour and repair of carpentry connections—rotational behaviour of the rafter and tie beam connection in timber roof structures. J Cult Herit 13(3):64–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Pang SJ, Oh JK, Park CY, Kim SJ, Lee JJ (2012) Effects of size ratios on dovetail joints in Korean traditional wooden building. In: Proceedings WCTE, Auckland

  10. Parisi MA, Cordié C (2010) Mechanical behavior of double-step timber joints. Constr Build Mater 24(8):1364–1371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Tannert T, Lam F, Vallee T (2010) Structural performance of rounded dovetail connections: experimental and numerical investigations. Eur J Wood Wood Prod 69(3):471–482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Xu BH, Bouchair A, Taazount M (2010) 3D non-linear finite element modelling of traditional timber connections. In: Proceedings WCTE 2010, Riva del Garda

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank to project NAKI DF12P01OVV004 provided by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, v.v.i., Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prosecká 76, 190 00, Prague, Czech Republic

    Jiří Kunecký, Anna Arciszewska-Kędzior & Hana Hasníková

  2. Department of Wood Science, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, 613 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Václav Sebera

Authors
  1. Jiří Kunecký
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anna Arciszewska-Kędzior
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Václav Sebera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hana Hasníková
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiří Kunecký.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kunecký, J., Arciszewska-Kędzior, A., Sebera, V. et al. Mechanical performance of dovetail joint related to the global stiffness of timber roof structures. Mater Struct 49, 2315–2327 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-015-0651-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-015-0651-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation