Wooden Nails Revolutionize Wood-Frame Shear Walls

By Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts
Mirage News
May 17, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Modern architecture increasingly favors timber structures for their sustainability and energy efficiency. However, traditional metal connectors used in these structures often suffer from corrosion and reduced durability. Now, researchers from Nanjing Forestry University have developed an innovative solution using wooden nails, offering a sustainable and durable alternative. The study, published in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, investigates the lateral resistance performance of wood-frame shear walls using wooden nail connections. The research team conducted monotonic loading tests on 64 nail joints across eight groups, considering factors such as sheathing panel material (oriented strand board (OSB) and structural plywood (SP)), thickness, nail diameter, spacing, and cap configuration. The results show that wooden nails can significantly enhance the shear-bearing capacity and stiffness of the connections. Specifically, joints with SP sheathing panels exhibited higher shear capacity than those with OSB. Increasing nail diameter and reducing spacing also improved load-bearing capacity and stiffness.

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