Thermo-mechanical behavior of CLT beam-to-girder assemblies connected with T-shaped dowelled connections before, during and after fire exposure

Purpose3-ply cross-laminated timber (CLT) is used to investigate the thermo-mechanical performance of intermediate-size assemblies comprised of T-shaped welded slotted-in steel doweled connections and CLT beams at ambient temperature (AT), after and during non-standard fire exposure.Design/methodology/approachThe first set of experiments was performed as a benchmark to find the load-carrying capacity of the assembly and investigate the failure modes at AT. The post-fire performance (PFP) test was performed to investigate the residual strength of the assembly after 30-min exposure to a non-standard fire. The fire-performance (FP) test was conducted to investigate the thermo-mechanical behavior of the loaded assembly during non-standard fire exposure. In this case, the assembly was loaded to 67% of AT load-carrying capacity and partially exposed to a non-standard fire for 75 min.FindingsEmbedment failure and plastic deformation of the dowels in the beam were the dominant failure modes at AT. The load-carrying capacity of the assembly was reduced to 45% of the ambient capacity after 30 min of fire exposure. Plastic bending of the dowels was the principal failure mode, with row shear in the mid-layer of the CLT beam and tear-out failure of the header sides also observed. During the FP test, ductile embedment failure of the timber in contact with the dowels was the major failure mode at elevated temperature.Originality/valueThis paper presents for the first time the thermo-mechanical performance of CLT beam-to-girder connections at three different thermal conditions. For this purpose, the outside layers of the CLT beams were aligned horizontally.Highlights Load-carrying capacity and failure modes of CLT beam-to-girder assembly with T-shaped steel doweled connections at ambient temperature presented.Residual strength and failure modes of the assembly after 30-min partially exposure to the non-standard fire provided throughout the post-fire performance test.Fire resistance of the assembly partially exposed to the non-standard fire highlighted.