Laserstrahlbohrungen für richtungsgenau positionierte Vollgewindeschrauben - Einbau und Tragverhalten

Laser-drilled guide holes for self-tapping screws - Installation and load bearing behaviour

Self-tapping continuously threaded screws can be installed without predrilling and have - besides their use as fasteners - proven suitable as high-performance reinforcements of structural members and joints in timber construction. For this type of application big installation depths (leff >20 d) and screw lengths (l >0.6 m) are required which cause problems regarding precisely positioned installation. Due to the inhomogeneity of wood as a natural material, even at medium size lengths the screws tend to 'stray' i. e. a deviation of the screw tip from the designated axis occurs which is increasing disproportionately with growing screw lengths. While for shorter screws mechanically drilled holes are commonly used as guidance, for longer screws potentially only laser-drilled holes can ensure a straight direction of the screw axis. The high energy and heat input of the laser beam results in a thermal modification of the wood around the drill hole, thus presumably influencing the load bearing and bond behaviour of screws that are screwed into such holes. The Chair of Structures and Structural Design and the Chair of Laser Technology of RWTH Aachen University carried out a series of tests to examine the use of laser radiation to drill holes in glued laminated timber and to evaluate the load bearing behaviour of self-tapping screws installed in these holes focussing on short drill-/bond lengths (l = 6 d).The results point out the potential of the development of this innovative wood processing method for the field of timber construction.