LATERAL RESISTANCE OF RING-SHANK NAIL CONNECTIONS IN SOUTHERN PINE LUMBER

Ring-shank nails are used in engineered structures with lateral connec tion design values based on theoretically derived equations which were validated only for common nails. The goal of this study was to quanti fy the input parameters and lateral connection strength of several typ es of ring-shank nails in Southern pine lumber and critically evaluate the applicability of the theoretical equations for ring-shank nails. Two sizes of galvanized and ungalvanized, hardened steel ring-shank na ils from two manufacturers were studied. The hardened, ring-shank nail s carried significantly higher loads than the common wire nails studie d. Because the current method of determining yield load does not give adequate credit to hardened, ring-shank nails, an alternate method is proposed.