Cambering of timber composite beams by means of screw fasteners

The aim of this paper is to investigate the possibility of cambering a timber beam by simply putting another beam on the top of it and inserting screws inclined at 45° relative to the beam axis. To this purpose, three experimental tests have been performed at the Laboratory of the Department of Mechanical and Structural Engineering (DIMS) of the University of Trento. After the calibration of a numerical model that helped in understanding the "cambering phenomenon", an analytical formulation has been proposed. The resulting formula for determining the upward camber (given the mechanical properties of the beams and of the fasteners) has shown the capability of reproducing the experimental behaviour with promising accuracy. However, further testing is recommended so as to validate the method feasibility to existing beams.