| Abstract: | Abstract The objective of this study was to determine and predict the withdrawal resistance or pull-out load of common wire nails embedded in radial, tangential and cross-sectional grain orientation of Douglas fir (Presudotsuga menziesii) and sugar maple (Acer sacharum) samples. Four lead-hole diameters of 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 mm were used to create various interference fits. Nails with a diameter of 3.38 mm were driven into the samples to a depth of 10 mm for the experiments. The overall withdrawal resistance of Douglas fir samples was found to be lower than that of maple samples. Strength values of each sample increased with decreasing lead-hole diameters. No significant difference was found between withdrawal resistance values from radial and tangential sections in either species. However, significantly lower values were obtained for the cross-sections of the samples than for the two other sections. Ratios between predicted pull-out load values of the nails from both species based on the finite element numerical interference approach were very close to experimental measurements, with ratios ranging from 0.93 to 1.09. The results provide better understanding of the behaviour and performance of pull-out resistance for building systems. |
