Experimental study of dowel design in the shear plate dowel joint
The shear plate dowel joint (SPDJ) is a novel connection design for use in heavy timber structures. Load transfer between timber members is enabled using a single large diameter dowel and externally glued steel plates. The steel plates are glued to the timber using bond lines of low stiffness and high fracture energy to achieve a uniform shear stress distribution, thus maximizing the load carrying