Shear strength of beam splice joints with glued-in rods

Splitting failure in beam splice joints with glued-in rods parallel to grain in endwood subjected to pure shear is considered. A simple theoretical expression based on beam-on-elastic-foundation theory and quasi-non-linear fracture mechanics is presented for calculation of the joint strength. Tests were conducted on jointed beams in a four-point bending test setup in which the joints were located at the point of pure shear force. Hardwood dowels with a diameter of 12mm and a glued-in length of 120mm were used as rods, and various beam cross sections and dowel configurations were tested. The theory presented is found to agree well with test results in all cases in which the edge distance of the glued-in rods is relatively small. Some test results indicate that the theory may be conservative in case of large edge distances.