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This paper presents an experimental study on dowelled connections in Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) and Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) using ϕ20 mm mild steel dowels and internal steel plates. Connections designed to fail in brittle row shear and group tear-out were tested under monotonic loading to assess the validity of analytical models from literature and code provisions. Connections designed to provide non-linearity before failure and thus produce ductility were tested under both monotonic and cyclic loading to study the influence of cyclic loading on ductility and the possibility of mode cross-over. It was found that cross layers in CLT improve ductility. Furthermore, mode cross-over from ductile response to brittle failure was observed in both CLT and LVL connections. Nevertheless, a good amount of ductility was achieved in all layouts (except the LVL connections designed for group tear-out failure) before cross-over to brittle failure occurred.

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The structural performance of nailed hold-down connection systems used for cross-laminated timber (CLT) shear walls under monotonic and cyclic loading was experimentally evaluated. Critical connection performance parameters, including strength, stiffness, ductility, and overstrength, were derived from the testing of 68 hold-down connection specimens. The nailed CLT hold-down connections achieved moderate to high ductility when fracture failures of their metal brackets were avoided. The hold-down connection systems with 3 mm thick commercial brackets achieved ductility factors ranged from 2.7 to 4.3, while the hold-down connection systems composed of 10 mm thick steel plates and longer nails achieved larger ductility factors which ranged from 4.7 to 6.3. The overstrength factors of the holddown systems ranged from 1.45 to 1.62 except the one composed of the 10 mm thick brackets and 100 mm long nails installed at wide spacing. It was also found that the yield strength of the nailed hold-down connections under monotonic loading was similar to that obtained by cyclic loading.