ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on dowel-type connectors and engineered metal plate (Simpson™) connectors. It discusses truss plates, timber rivets, split rings, and shear plate connectors. Small-diameter wood screws and finishing nails are not considered structural connectors and are not included. Light wood trusses today are fabricated using truss plates. They consist of galvanized, gage metal plates that are punched to create little spikes. Timber rivets have become popular since their introduction in the 1997 NDS. Engineers developed timber rivet connections for glue-laminated timber, but they can be used in heavy timbers just as effectively. Dowel-type connectors are loaded in two primary ways: lateral and withdrawal. Lateral loads place the connector in shear and the wood in bearing. To determine if a connector is strong enough, the chapter compare the required capacity with the adjusted design strength. Fastener spacing is of fundamental concern so that splitting of wood or failure of fasteners at lower loads than we anticipate can be avoided.
