End-colloquium Elise Wielinga

Finite Element Analysis of Interlocking Timber Connections in Plywood Diaphragm Floors: Optimizing Form for Strength
Recent innovations in the digital production industry such as Computer Numerical Control (CNC) might offer a rebirth for interlocking timber joinery. Application to conventional buildings could offer a solution to quicker, more sustainable and demountable construction on a large scale. This research investigated what the optimal design parameters are to maximize the tension and shear strength of interlocking timber joinery in plywood diaphragm floor seams. Linear Elastic Finite Element Analyses were performed to analyse the influence of the shape of timber connections on their tension and shear strength capacity. Dovetail, arrow and yin yang shaped connections with varying geometric parameters were assessed by two failure criteria. Parametric scripts were used for automated creation of the Finite Element Models and post-processing of the results. A suggestion is provided for application to the WikiHouse. I hope to see you there.