Short-term cyclic performance of metal-plate-connected wood truss joints

The objective of this research was to evaluate the performance of metal-plate-connected truss joints subjected to cyclic loading conditions that simulated seismic events in the lives of the joints. We also investigated the duration of load factor for these joints. We tested tension splice joints and heel joints from a standard 9.2-m Fink truss constructed from 38- ?89-mm Douglas-fir lumber: 10 tension splice joints for static condition and for each of 6 cyclic loading conditions (70 joints total) and 10 heel joints for static condition and for each of 3 cyclic loading conditions (40 joints total). We evaluated results by comparing the strengths of the control group (static) with those of the cyclic loading groups. None of the cyclic loading conditions showed any strength degradation; however, there was significant stiffness degradation for both types of joint. The results of this research show that the current duration of load factor of 1.6 for earthquake loading is adequate for these joints.