A new dissipative connection for CLT buildings

This paper presents an innovative steel connection specifically developed to provide increased dissipative and ductility capacities to CLT buildings. The proposed element assures high ductility, negligible pinching behaviour and well defined response to combined shear and tension loads. The fixing of CLT panels by means of these elements makes the applicability of the capacity design principles more reliable. The novel joint was theorized and optimized via numerical modelling. Then, its behaviour was validated through experimental tests. Results in terms of strength, stiffness and ductility are illustrated and discussed, in comparison with commonly used connection elements. When used to connect CLT panels to foundations, to floor diaphragms or reciprocally, the proposed connection allows to reach high dissipative and ductility capacity even when large CLT shear walls without vertical joints are adopted. This has been proved via non-linear numerical simulation of a cyclic-loading test of a shear wall.