Cal91:
That’s not bad reasoning, except... In steel, for example, which is a pretty homogeneous material, we have a pretty good control and understanding of the mechanics of this plastic hinge formation, and the moment redistribution as long as that section of the beam is prevented from bucking/rollover during the yielding process. Wood, even though in GlueLam form, is less consistent and homogeneous, so it will be (might be) a less uniform and controlled moment redistribution and yielding, ripping, whatever. I’m more concerned with the uncontrolled tensile ripping/fracture than I am with the relatively controlled crushing in compression. So, I like Mike’s idea of doing something to force/control the location of the tensile failure.