10/12/2026
You’re watching full-scale cyclic tests of steel-to-timber dowel connections for timber braced frames.
The research was conducted at Linnaeus University in Växjö, Sweden, where Andre Barbosa, the Cecil and Sally Drinkward Professor in Structural Engineering at Oregon State University, is serving as a visiting professor through a Swedish fellowship funded by the Knowledge Foundation.
Braced frames are one of the most efficient ways to resist earthquake and wind loads in tall mass timber buildings, and the connections at the ends of the braces are where the energy from an earthquake has to be absorbed. In these tests, glulam brace connections were pushed and pulled back and forth with increasing amplitude, as in an earthquake, until they failed, to measure how much load they carry and how much they can deform before failing.
This research is helping make taller wood buildings a safer and more practical option in earthquake-prone regions like the Pacific Northwest, while advancing the use of a sustainable building material that stores carbon and supports Oregon’s forest products industry.
Research collaborators at Linnaeus University include Robin Werngren Karlsson, Carmen Amaddeo, Michael Schweigler, Anders Alrutz, and Caroline Aquino, along with several industry partners, including Moelven, Simpson Strong-Tie Sweden, and Rothoblaas.
