Bearing Strength of Glass Fiber Reinforced Glulam Bolted Connection

To study the bearing characteristics of glass fiber reinforced glulam for structural design, bearing strength tests were performed. Bearing loads were applied in the direction parallel to the grains, and the holes were prepared in such a way that the bolts would bear and support all the layers. The yield bearing strengths of the glass fiber reinforced glulam were found to be similar to those of the non-reinforced glulam, and were almost constant regardless of increases in bolt diameter. The ratio of the experimental yield bearing strength to the estimated bearing strength according to the suggested equation of the Korea Building Code and National Design Specification was 0.91~1.03. For the non-reinforced glulam and the sheet glass fiber reinforced plastic glulam, the maximum bearing load was measured according to the splitting fracture of specimens under bolt. The textile glass fiber reinforced glulam underwent only an embedding failure caused by the bearing load. The failure mode of reinforced glulam according to bearing load will influence the failure behavior of bolted connection, and estimating the shear yield strength of the bolted connection of the reinforced glulam is necessary, not only by using the bearing strength characteristics but also using the fracture toughness of the reinforced glulam.