Load-withdrawal displacement I TechnZcaNote

I
characteristics ,of nails

Kevin M. Groom
Robert J. Leichti

A load-withdrawal curve for a 16d nail fastening

Abstract one Douglas-fir stud to the end of another was pro-
Load-withdrawal displacement relationships were duced in earlier research (11). The load-withdrawal
established for five different nails for use in nonlinear relationship is linear to a distinct yield point, where
Finite-element models. Although withdrawal capacity the load then drops off.
is commonly reported, load-withdrawal displacement
relationships for naris are not available in the litera- Guidelines of the American Society forTesting and
ture. Nails were hand-driven into Douglas-fir 2-by-4 Materials (ASTM), D 1761 (1), for nail withdrawal tests
studs and withdrawn from the wood specimen at a do not require monitoring displacement. Only the
constant rate. Load and nail displac.ement were mon- maximum load is ordinarily reported. The objective of
itored. Test results were plotted as a load-withdrawal this brief report is to describe the procedure and
curve and adjusted for specimen settlement in the typical results for :nail withdrawal tests that include
testing apparatus. The final results were represented displacement measurements.
as trl-linear curves that closely approxLmate actual Materials and methods
nail characteristics. Douglas-fir studs (2- by 4-in., No. 2 grade) were
used for the withdrawal tests. The aw._rage moisture
content and specific gravity based on ovendry weights
and conditioned w)lume were 9.4 percent and 0.47,
Load-withdrawal displacement values for nails respectively. The average modulus of elasticity of the
were needed for finite-element modeling of inter- wood, based on long-span static bending tests, was
component connections performed at Oregon State 1.77 x 106 psi (5).
University (5). The intercomponent connections were Five nail types _ioist hanger nails, 6d, 8d, 10d, and
critical details for the complete structure model (7). 16d) were used for the withdrawal tests. The nails were
ResearchonthreadednailsbyEhlbeck(3)showedthat purchased from a local supplier and were not
the load-withdrawal relationship waried with thread degreased ormodi£Led. Table 1 shows the shanklength
angle. However, with the exception of a single load- and diameter for the five nail types.
withdrawal diagram in the Wood Handbook (12), the
load-displacement relationship of common nails in Eight different joint types typical of the light-frame
withdrawal from the face of a member has not been structure tested by Phillips (9) were evaluated. The
studied. As other researchers engage in modeling anal-
yses, this type of information will be more widely sought.
Many sources provide empirical formulas and ta-
bles to find the maximum load of a nail in withdrawal The authors are, respectively, Research Specialist, Or-
egon Dept. of Transportation, Salem, OR 97310, and Asso-
(3,4,6,8,12). However, none of these give withdrawal ciate Professor, Dept. of Forest Prod., College of Forestry,
displacement as a function of load. Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR 97331. This research was
funded by the USDA, Wood Science Competitive Grants
Connected members may be separated by with- Programs, and the Forest Res. Lab. of Oregon State Univ.
drawing the nail from the base material, as when two The research was conducted while the first author was a
studs are nailed together, or by both withdrawing the Graduate Research Assistant at Oregon State Univ. This is
nail from the base material and pulling the nail_head Paper
received2842, Forest lq'.es.Lab.,
for publicatJ[on in JuneOregon
1992. State Univ., and was
through the side member, aswhen plywood orgypsum © Forest Products Society 1993.
is nailed to a stud. Forest l:_-od.J. 43(1):51-54.

FOREST PRODUCTS JOURNAL vol. 43, No.I 51

joints are described in Table 1; some of the nail shank nail would pass in the real structure:. Since the nail-
was exposed {either 0.2, 0.5, 1.5, or 2.0 in.) to account driving method influences the characteristics of the
for the metal, sheathing, or stud through which the joint (9,10), the nails were manually driven with a
hammer without leadholes to match real conditions.
Nails were driven into the side grain without noting
radial or tangential orientation. Tests were conducted
Immediately after driving the nails.
To Testing Machine The ASTM methods (I) for testing: nail withdrawal
were followed. "file testing apparatus is shown in
Load Figure1.
Two linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs)
were mounted on the shaft that connected the nail-
head grip to the crosshead of the testing machine. The
testing machine was operated at a constant with-
drawal rate of 0.01 in./min. This rate of withdrawal
displacement was slower than specified in ASTM
methods in order to facilitate load acad displacement
measurements. Load and displacement data were
recorded electronically at a rate of one reading per
second. The displacement values of the two LVDTs
-- Nail-Head Grip were averaged and reported as a single number. Eight
nail-joint combinations were tested with 15 replicates
for each combination.
Nail
Results and discussion
The Wood Handbook (12) show's a typical nail
withdrawal curw_ for a nail driven into Douglas-fir. A
kink in the curve suggests that the joint undergoes
some initial strain hardening. However, data from
several withdrawal tests performed in this study dis-
played two load-withdrawal displacement patterns.
One pattern was similar in form to the kinked curve
shown in the Wood Handbook, but the other pattern
had no kink and was linear to a proportional limit. A
kinked curve resulted when the wood specimen settled
Wood Member in the test apparatus. The wood was not fixed in the
apparatus, and either an imperfect fit of the specimen,
or distortion of a nail that was not perpendicular to
the wood caused settlement, represented by the kink.
After the specimen settled under some load, the with-
- Load Cell drawal curve was linear.
Specimens with no settlement problems had
curves that were linear to a proportional limit. Kinked
curves were adjusted by means of the technique
Figure 1.-- Testingapparatus for nail withdrawaltests. The two outlined in ASTM D 695 (2). The initial portion of the
linearvadabledifferentialtransformers are not shown sothatthe curve, which represented both stiffness of the settle-
nail may be seen. ment and nail withdrawal, was disregarded. The re-

TABLE ]. -- Descriptiolts of nails and characteristic joints.

Nailand Nailshank dimensions,

Joint identification Joint type Nail type Length Diameter Shank exposed Shank embedded
....................... (in.) ......................

A Framing-anchors JHN a 1.3 0.120 0.2 1.1

B Sheathlng-stud 6d 2.0 0.110 0.5 1.5
C1 Framlng-anchors 8d 2.5 0.130 0.2 2.3
C2 Sheathlng-stud 0.5 2.0
D 1 Top plate-top plate 10d 3. I 0.14,5 1.5 1.6
2.0 1.1
D2 --
El Stud-stud 16d 3.5 0.160 1.5 2.0
E2 Sole plate-subIloor-Joist 2.0 1.5
a Joist hanger nails.

52 JANUARY
1993
maining portion of the curve was slhifted to the left so Load-withdrawal displacement curves (Fig. 3) for
that the actual nail withdrawal stiffness started from an 8d nail with 0.5 inch of exposed shank indicate a
the origin (Fig. 2). linear relationship to a proportional l_m_it,
followed by
a nonlinear relationship. When the load reached the
maximum value, the curve either leveled off, or began
to decline gradually.
200 For the purpose ofapplicationto the finlte-element
model, each load-x_thdrawal displacement curve was
180- __ _'r''7"_- represented by three linear plecewise functions: zero
160- / /.... to the proportional limit, proportional limit to maxl-
140- / mum load, and beyond maximum load. The curves
-_ 120- JSh ift/" "" were assumed to be flat beyond the maximum load
because the model[ algorithmsrequirethat all nonlin-
_ 80- ear slopes be non-negative. The load-withdrawal rela-
60- _-- Shifted tionship was represented by the initial stiffness, pro-
40 ......
........ original
Linear depiction
portlonal limit, maximum withdrawal load, and the
20- withdrawal at the maximum load (Table 2).
100- / ..... , _/..." , , Withdrawal s_rfness and load capacity are influ-
0.004 0.008 0.012 0.016 enced by many factors, such as wood density, diame-
Withdrawal(in.) ter of the nail, length of embedment, type of shank,
type of point, and surface coating. These details con-
tribute to the somewhat unexpected results in load
capacity and the failure characteristics; of the different
Figure 2. m Typicalload-withdrawalcurve.
nail types. Because the intent of the project was to
generate stiffness information for modeling purposes,
statistical tests among nail types were not conducted.
Conclusions
300 [ Although data on the load-withdrawal displace-
I ment relationship its not important for most nail appll-
250- cations, it is essential for finite-element modeling of
nailed connections. Adjustment of the load-with-
200- drawal curve was necessary to correct for woodspec-

150- meet requirements of the model algorithms (allnon-

_ imen settlement(evidentby a kinked curve)and to
o, linear slopes must be non-negative).
100- Literature cited
1. American Society for Testing and Materials. ]L991. Standard test
methods for mech_mlcal fasteners in wood. ASTM D 1761-88.
50" In: Annual Book of Standards, Vol. 04.09. ASTM, Philadelphia,
Pa. pp. 302-313.
2.. 199 i. Standard test methods for compressive prop-
0 i t l t erties of rigid plastics. D 695-90. In: Annual Book of Standards,
0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 0.025 Vol.o8.ol. ASTM,Philadelphia, Pa. pp. 194-200.
Withdrawal (int.) 3. Ehlbeck, J. 1979. Nailed joints in wood structures. M.S. thesis.
Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., lqlacksburg, Va.
4. Faherty, K.F. 1982. Design of cormectlons. In: Wood: Engineer-
Figure 3. -- Load-withdrawal curves for an 8d nail with 0.5 in. of ing Design Concepts.
eds. Materials
A.D.Council,
Education
Freas, R.C. Moody, and L.A.Soltis,
Materials Res. Lab., Penn-
the nail shank exposed, sylvania State Univ., University Park, Pa. pp. 367-431.

TABLE 2. -- Load-displacement results J'rom withdrau_al tests 0_" 15) based on shifted curves.
Nail and joint ldenUflcatlon Initial stiffness Proportional limit Maximum load Withdrawal[ at maximum load
(lb./In.) ............... (lb.) ............... (In.)
A 45,950 (14,950) a 185 (39) 251 {47) .0080 (.0038)
B 45.540 (8.885) 240 (62) 299 I[94) .0079 (.0022)
CI 37,930 (14,590) 164 (29) 241 {49) .0098 (.0019)
C2 23,820 (9,267) 153 (31) 181 I[30) .0100 (.0038)
DI 35,160 (16,810) 154 (39) 194 I[28) .0096 (.0037)
D2 25,390 (12,710) 88 (20) 117 I',23) .0070 (.0018)
E1 b 35,600 (8,037) 218 (43) 218 (A3) .0066 (.0022)
E2 b 38,630 (23,940) 202 (55) 202 I',55) .0064 (.0025)
a Values in parentheses are standard deviations.
b Sudden failure occurred In each test. therefore proportional limit and maximum load are the same.

FORESTPRODUCTS
JOURNAL vol.43.No.I 53
 5. Groom, ICM. 1992. Nonlinear finite-element modeling of inter- 9. Philllps, T.J. 1990. Load sharing charactez_stics ofthree-dimen-
component connections in light-frame wood structures. M.S. sional wood diaphragms. M.S. thesis. Washington State Univ.,
thesis. Oregon State Univ., CorvaUis, Oreg. PulhTaan, Wash.
6. International Conference of Building Officials. 1988. Uniform I0. Polensek, A. 1988, Effects of testing variables on damping and
Bufldlng Code. ICBO, Whittier, Calif. stiffness of nailed wood-to-sheathing Joints. J. of Testing and
7. Kasal, B. 1992. A nonlinear three-dimensional finite-element Evaluation 16(5):474-480.
model of a llght-frame wood structure, Ph.D. diss. Oregon State I I. ____ and K.M. Bastendorff. 1987.. Damping in nailed
Univ., Corvallis, Oreg. joints of Ilght-frame wood buildings. V_rood and Fiber Sci.
8. National Forest Products Assoc£ation. 1988. National Design 19(2):110-125.
Specifications for Wood Construction. NFPA, Washington, D.C. 12. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. 1987. Wood
Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Ivlaterial. USDA Agri.
Handb. 72. USDA Forest Serv., Washington, D.C.

Resource management
methods changing
The controversies of natural
resource management in the Pacific
Northwest have forced major
changesin the time-consuming pro-
cess of creating and applying new
knowledge, scientists say.
Forests, fields, and streams are fac-
in8 urgent demands that range from
biodiversity to fisheries and spotted
owlsto timber supply,saidscientists
from Oregon State Univ. (OSU)and
the USDAForestSen/.,in a recent pre-
sentationat the annualmeetingof
the Ecological Society of America.
As a result, many new concepts
about land management are now
being implemented on broad, land-
scape-level areas before the method-
ical process of science has reached
its normal culmination,saidFred
Swanson, a Forest Service ecologist
and OSUprofessorof forest engineer.-
in8.
"None of use are totally comfort-
able with this approach for all put-
poses," Swanson said. "But it's an ac-
complished fact and, given the
demands, we believe the approach is
defensible. We're trying to link basic
ecological research with applied man-
agement policy as quickly and effec-
tively as possible."
The controversies come to a peak
in the pristine streams and old-
growth forestof the PacificNorth-
west, Swanson said, where new ap-
proaches to the management of
sustainableecosystems,suchas al-
ternative silviculture, are bein8 imple-
mented earlierthan the usualscien-
tific processwould dictate,8roundbe-
"There'sa hugemiddle
tween tree farming and hands-off
wilderness preservation," Swanson
said. "That's what we're trying to ex-
plore."
This exploration, he said, has al-
ready garnered support from many
researchers, land managers, policy
makers, and the general public,
Major new research facilities will
soon be completedin the HJ.An-
drews Experimental Forest in the Ore-
8on CascadeRange.A new Cascade
Centerfor EcosystemManagementis
being established by OSU and the For-
est Service, and congressional fund-
in8 for these activities is increasing,
While managers are busy imple-
menting some of the concepts, scien-
tists are still working out all the ques-
tions and answers,
"There are a lot of questions we
needto answer,"saidArthur McKee,
an OSUforest scientist and site direc-
tot at the H.J.Andrews Forest. "Do
green trees and downed material
help maintain site productivity? Can
we manage our forests to more
quickly provide habitat for spotted
owls and all the other species? Can
computer simulations help us predict
future impacts?
"It'sa long list,"he said.
The old scientific model of re-
search, development, and applica-
tion, in that order,is still a goodone,
McKeesaid.
"However, for many issues we just
don't have the luxury we usedto
have of 10-year research programs,"
he said."Weare now forcedto con-
duct developmentand applicationsi-
multaneously."
In this process, Swanson and
McKee say, some of' the older, most
traditional forestry practices are
being questioned or rejected.
Clearcuttin8, long an accepted
method for forest harvest and regen-
eration, is often being modified or
eliminated.
Forest fire, long vilified as the ulti-
mate evil, is beingonce more appre-
ciated for its role and necessity in the
forestecosystem.
Foreststhat were onceleft clean
and tidy are being cluttered with soil-
enriching debris on purpose. Radi-
cally different forest: harvesting tech-
niques are being developed.
Perhaps the biggest change, the re-
searchers said, is the communication
processitself.Scientistsno longer
have an inspiration that they then ex-
plore at their leisure,study indefi-
nitely, and eventually passalongto
the real world for commercial devel-
opment and application.
Now, multiple-institution teams of
researchers work on major projects
together, involving the land planners,
policy makers, and public.
Instead of quiet and controlled, it's
noisy and vigorous, but it appears to
beworking.
"We're working toward a genuinely
sustainable ecosystem," Swanson
said."Thatsuggeststhe total empha-
sis on any single species,to the exclu-
sion of all else, is inappropriate. And
it doesn'tmatter whether that spe-
cies is a spotted owl or a Douglas-fir."

54 JANUARY
1993