Comparative analysis on the mechanical properties of mortise-tenon joints in heritage timber buildings with and without a ‘Que-Ti’ component

Abstract

Three kinds of typical Chinese traditional mortise-tenon joints were tested. The effects of sparging on the deformation, hysteretic behavior, strength and stiffness degradation, and energy dissipation of the mortise-tenon joints were studied via low-cycle reversed loading tests with and without a ‘Que-Ti’ component. The results showed the following: the bearing capacity of the straight-tenon joint was the strongest, and the hysteretic loop of the through-tenon joint and half-tenon joint were asymmetric due to the asymmetry of the tenon form. The half-tenon joint was most likely to pull out the tenon, and the tenon pulling condition of the half-tenon joint can be effectively alleviated by adding a ‘Que-Ti’ component. From the perspective of energy consumption, it was found that the energy consumption capacity of the mortise-tenon joints after adding a ‘Que-Ti’ component was stronger than the joints without a ‘Que-Ti’ component. This shows that the ‘Que-Ti’ can be used as an effective component in terms of enhancing the mechanical properties of the mortise-tenon joints.

Study on the seismic performance of through-tenon joints with pullout tenon gaps between mortise and tenon shoulder

“…According to the building code published during the Song dynasty, Yingzao Fashi (Li 1950), a 1:3.52 scaled through-tenon joint model was fabricated. The tested timber structure consists of two main parts, column and beam.…”

“…The gap between mortise and tenon shoulder is a common phenomenon of damage to mortise-tenon joints in post-earthquake ancient timber architecture (Li et al 2022). Therefore, some scholars have studied the influence of the gap between mortise and tenon shoulder on the seismic performance of mortise-tenon joints.…”