Ductility of adhesively bonded timber joints

In the field of timber engineering, adhesive bonding remains a promising, though poorly developed, joining technique that may increase the structural stiffness and capacity of timber joints and structures. Selecting ductile adhesives may further allow to conceive ductile joints, which can compensate for the missing material ductility of timber. To demonstrate the potential of this approach, adhesively bonded double-lap timber joints were manufactured using a ductile acrylic adhesive and then subjected to axial tension and compression. The load–displacement responses were captured and compared to those of the same joints composed of a brittle epoxy adhesive. The effect of the different adhesives on the joint ductility has been studied and quantified.