Experimental and theoretical analyses on the mechanical properties of prestressed glulam continuous beam joints

Traditional glulam joints require timber processing, which is prone to timber splitting at weak points in the material, affecting the joint bearing capacity and overall structural safety. This paper proposes the concept of non-damage splint-type prestressed glulam continuous beam joints, and joints with various prestressing levels and numbers of steel wires were tested. The mechanical properties, including failure modes, joint moment, elastic stiffness, and moment–rotation relationship curves, were investigated. Additionally, compared with the theoretical calculation method of rigid joints, a simplified calculation method for the flexural capacity of the joint was proposed. The results show that increasing the prestress levels and the number of steel wires can effectively improve the joint bearing capacity. In addition, the ratio of the experimental value to the theoretical value of the joint moment ranges from 0.82 to 0.87, which provides references for the theoretical analysis and engineering application of similar structures.