Mechanical performance of timber connections made of thick flexible polyurethane adhesives

This study investigates timber connections with flexible polyurethane adhesives, which prove to have the potential
for timber-adhesive composite structures without mechanical connections for seismic regions. Results of
conducted cyclic double lap-shear adhesive timber joints tests were compared with available experimental results
on timber connections with standard mechanical dowel-type fasteners and with results of numerical finite
element analysis. The study found that the shear strength, elastic stiffness and strength degradation capacity of
the flexible adhesive connections were significantly higher compared to mechanical fasteners commonly used in
seismic-resistant timber connections. The latter, however, manifested larger ultimate displacements but also
yielded at lower displacements.