Compression perpendicular to grain in timber – Bearing strength for a sill plate

Abstract: Timber is widely used in the construction industry, because of its availability and good properties. The compressive strength perpendicular to grain (bearing strength) is one property of wood which is important for structural design. The bearing strength is important for the behavior of the structure in all contact points between wooden members. The calculations models for bearing strength have been a subject of discussion for many years and the different building codes in Europe has treated it differently during the years. The aim of this thesis was to compare different calculations models for bearing strength with the results of an experimental study. In this study the bearing strength for a fully supported beam loaded with a point load was studied. Two different loading lengths were studied as well as loading in a point in the middle of the beam, at the edge of the beam and at a distance of 10 mm between the edge and the loading point. The loading was made with a steel stud. Calculations were also performed according to the following standards; Eurocode 5 (EN1995-1-1:2004) before and after amendment, the German Code (DIN 1052:2004), the Italian Code (CNR-DT 206:2006) and two versions of the Swedish Code (BKR). The results showed that the results from the new version of Eurocode 5 agreed best with the experimental results. The tested results, however, were lower than the values calculated using Eurocode (and all the other codes); this might be explained by the hard loading conditions using a steel stud instead of a wood stud.