This paper is focused on evalutaion of the performacne of glued-in rods (GIR) in Douglas-fir glulam timber and Mass Ply Panels (MPP) produced in the USA for structural applications. One of the objectives of the study was to compare the performance of GIR joints with and without recess of the bond length in the tension and compression. High-strength steel threaded rods of 15.9 mm in diameter were bonded into wood members of 70 mm X 70 mm in corss-section in three confugurations. In one configuration, the bond length was 20 times the stress diameter (ds) of the rod. In another configuration, the embedded length of the rod included a machined portion (constriction zone) near the end of the wood member, which created a recess (not bonded length) of 4d, while the bond length remained the same (20ds). In the third configuration, the bond length was 24ds without a recess. Test results clearly demonstrated the benefits of a recess in GIR joints to increase the structural efficiency of timber connections. No GIR buckling was observed in compression tests.
