Fire Resistance of Epoxied Steel Rods in Glulam Timber

Andrew H. Buchanan, Associate Professor in Civil Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand David J. Barber, Design Engineer, Connell Wagner, Wellington, New Zealand

This research investigates the fire performance of epoxied rod connections in glue laminated timber. The epoxied rod connection has been assumed to have good fire resistance due to timber possessing low thermal conductivity. To investigate how full-size connections would react at elevated temperatures, computer modelling was used to analyse heat transfer through the charring wood and was validated by two series of tests. The first set of tests was to investigate the tension strength of the connection at elevated temperatures (40 to 90 degrees C) by using an oven to heat the epoxied rod connection. The second set of tests were full-size tension members exposed to standard fire conditions in a furnace. This paper summarises a report by Barber (1994).