Withdrawal performance of nails and screws in cross-laminated timber (CLT) made of poplar (Populus alba) and fir (Abies alba)

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) can be used as an element in various parts of timber structures, such as bridges. Fast-growing hardwood species, like poplar, are useful in regions where there is a lack of wood resources. In this study, the withdrawal resistance of nine types of conventional fasteners (stainless-steel nails, concrete nails and screws, drywall screws, three types of partially and fully threaded wood screws, and two types of lag screws), with three loading directions (parallel to the grain, perpendicular to the surface, and tangential), and two layer arrangements (0-90-0° and 0-45-0°) in 3-ply CLTs made of poplar as a fast-growing species and fir as a common species in manufacturing of CLT was investigated. Lag screws (10 mm) displayed the highest withdrawal resistance (145.77 N), whereas steel nails had the lowest (13.13 N), according to the main effect analysis. Furthermore, fasteners loaded perpendicular to the grain (perpendicular to the surface and tangential) had higher withdrawal resistance than those loaded parallel to the grain (edge). In terms of the layer arrangement, fasteners in CLTs manufactured from poplar wood (0-45-0°) had the greatest withdrawal resistance, followed by CLTs manufactured from poplar wood in the (0-90-0°) arrangement, and finally, those made from fir wood in the (0-90-0°) arrangement. The fastener type had the most significant impact on the withdrawal resistance, so changing the fastener type from nails to screws increased it by about 5–11 times, which is consistent with other studies. The results showed that poplar, a fast-growth species, is a proper wood for manufacturing CLTs in terms of fastener withdrawal performance.