MNV interaction in steel-to-timber connections with laterally loaded dowels

In steel-to-timber connections with timber members of higher density, e.g. hardwoods, complete failure of laterally loaded dowel-type fasteners may occur. This failure of the fasteners themselves is not considered in the design models based on the European Yield Model (EYM) where only dowel bending or tensile failure caused by the rope effect is taken into account. An analytical model is derived where the simultaneous occurrence of bending moments, tensile and shear forces in the fasteners and their influence on the connection capacity is considered. It is shown that especially for higher ratios of embedding strength to fastener tensile strength the MNV interaction may lead to an overestimation of connection capacities designed according to Eurocode 5 by up to 40%.