Experimental and numerical analysis of a halved and tabled traditional timber scarf joint

Traditionally constructed heavy timber trusses, found in timber framed buildings and bridges, employ various traditional joints, among them the lower chord scarf joint. This paper examines the behavior of a halved and tabled scarf joint, which was studied as an isolated structural component using experimental tests and finite element analyses. Experimental tests identified two different limit states for these particular scarf joints: shear failure parallel to grain and tension failure perpendicular to grain. The possibility of failure due to tension perpendicular to grain results from variations in grain angle and means that the limit state of shear failure parallel to grain, typically assumed in analysis and design, is unconservative. For the purposes of design and rehabilitation, the authors propose that the scarf joint be treated as a member subject to combined bending and axial tension forces. The results of the finite element analysis, performed using solid continuum elements in ABAQUS, are in good agreement with the experimental test results. In addition to finite element models, the authors use analytical spring models to demonstrate that when developing a two-dimensional model of a truss with lower chord scarf joints, serviceability limit states be checked with a model that reduces the lower chord section properties in the vicinity of the scarf joints.