Study on mechanical behaviors of loose mortise-tenon joint with neighbouring gap

The neighbouring gaps at the mortise-tenon joint in traditional timber structure, which leads to the complexity of the joint, are considered to impair the mechanical performance of the joint. In this paper, numerical simulation of loose joint was conducted to examine the deformation states, stress distributions, and bearing capacities, which was verified by full-scale test. On the basis of the experimental and numerical results, a simplified mechanics model with gaps has been proposed to present the bending capacity of the loose joint. Besides, the gap effects and parameter studies on the influences of tenon height, friction coefficient, elastic modulus and axial load were also investigated. As a result, the estimated relationship between moment and rotation angle of loose joint showed the agreement with the numerical results, demonstrating validity of the proposed model; The bending bearing capacity and rotational stiffness of loose joint had a certain drop with the increasing of gaps; and the tenon height may be the most important factor affecting the mechanical behaviors of the joint when it is subjected to repeated load; Research results can provide important references on the condition assessments of the existing mortise-tenon joint.