Technical Guidance Note | Level 2, No.

24 Technical

TECHNICAL Level 2, No. 24

GUIDANCE NOTES
are published by The

Principles of the
Institution of Structural
Engineers to provide
guidance to engineers in the

design of post-fi ed
early stages of their careers.
This note has been prepared
by AECOM on behalf of the

anchors
Institution.
www.istructe.org/tgns

CHRIS O’REGAN Introduction

BEng(Hons), CEng, FIStructE, FICE ost-fixed anchors have been used in one form or another for over 1 ears. he
Associate Director, Building Engineering, are t picall needed in refurbishments or in new-build pro ects where cast-in fixings
AECOM, London, UK are not practical or a late change has occurred.
Designing a post-fixed anchor can be a convoluted process principall due to the
number of variables involved when considering its use in an given situation. he
Glossary anchor itself could be resin-based or mechanical with this choice guided b the
material it is to be fixed into and the required loads.
Fastener alternative name for echnical uidance ote evel 1 o. 2 Post-fix anchors provides an introduction
post-fixed anchor used in S to these fixings and readers of this note should ensure the are familiar with the
1 - :2 1 . concepts discussed.

Design principles | the anchor itself

and methodology | the base material it is to be installed
Friction into
| l n a fi d
Three mechanisms determine the the base material – typically a steel
an a fi d an baseplate.
| friction – interaction between the
anchor itself and the surrounding n fi d an a d
material it is embedded in for the installation of primary structural
| keying – where a bulb at one end elements, they are regarded as safety-
causes the anchor to key into the critical. In other words, if they fail, there
Keying
surrounding material or a thread is a n fi an al lla
cut into the base material (applies to that could lead to the injury of a building’s
mechanical anchors) an . d n fi a n
| bonding – the bond between the and n alla n
an and ad d fi n d a l a n n.
into the surrounding material (applies includes guidance on anchor selection for
to resin-based anchors). use in safety-critical applications.
An anchor cannot be considered
Figure 1 illustrates these three Bonding to be installed until it has passed the
interactions and also highlights the testing regime described in cl. 9 of BS
principal lines of tension stress that . n an a
are applied to the anchor and the their performance in resisting tension
surrounding material. and shear, as described in cl. 9.4 of BS
d n a fi d an .
focused around its most probable mode However, it should be noted that if
of failure. Failures are all material in their Selection of anchor FIGURE 1: Three an anchor has been installed by trained
nature and concern either the failure of An understanding of the modes of interactions of post- operatives under supervision, then testing
fi ed anchors
l n an fi d n al fi d an d ay n d.
the anchor itself. Figure 2 illustrates the to identify their selection criteria. In the
types of failure that are likely to occur d dan Design principles
na fi d an a ly. on how an anchor is selected. Figure 3 d n a fi d an
Both Figs. 1 and 2 should be a d n d d nd la ly n n a al
considered to understand the method selection process. and mechanical properties of the anchor
y fi d an a Every anchor, regardless of type, is itself, which vary from manufacturer to
designed. ad n n manufacturer. The scope of this note is

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 Technical Technical Guidance Note | Level 2, No. 24

therefore limited to the principles around where:

which the design is carried out. More Ed d n al a n
detailed instruction on the design of Rd is the design resistance of the post-
fi d an ll d d na fi d an a n .
n l n .
n al all n an a fi d The derivation of the design
an a and an fi d an
tension forces. Particular design attention a n ll la n d n a
is devoted to tension, the anchor’s most n l n . n
common failure modes. Anchors are n nd and n l
designed using a set of safety factors that y fi d an a
a a l d a a d n n . designed. This allows an appreciation
These factors vary depending on the d d y an a
an a y ally ll and the software they provide to design
d ln d d n their anchors.
. d a n an a fi d an
to anchors as ‘fasteners’. a al la n dan y
All design advice in this note assumes d d n na l fi d
a ll ad d n .
al n n . All al nd nn a fi d an
da n and d n a ly failure due to tension and shear should
to any particular manufacturer’s anchor. n d d ll d ya n d
Readers should consult the relevant action check to ensure the anchor can
manufacturer’s literature for guidance on all a n a ll a l d
a fi an . to it.

ternal in uences Tension failure

Three important environmental and time- n n ll n
la d a n d n d apply:
and considered when designing a post- | steel failure – the anchor itself
fi d an fi d a n a l d a d a al n n n l
a n and n alla n a a l . | pull-out failure – the anchor pulls
out from the drilled socket within the
Fire  I Typical n fi an ly a an . a a al
types o post fi ed
an an n all d anchor failure
Aspects to consider include: | concrete cone failure – the anchor
an l n a a a fi fi a n | d ll an al ll a ay a a al
then the anchor must at least match the l and a along with a circular-shaped cone
rating in order for the element to function smooth | splitting failure a a al
a n nd d d n a fi . | n and n a n splits as a tension force is applied.
Most anchors react in some way to a ay n all d an l ad
n fi and l al d nd n n l a These failure modes are illustrated in
temperatures that accompany such was not considered in their design ig. and apply to all forms of post-
an n. n n a d | n n n a al fi d an .
fi d an d n n the resin The value for pull-out resistance
n fi an ly d d n fi . n | n an d d y an a
n an an ld d | al y na n fi d an and a n
to maintain the structural integrity of the a la and a a al consideration its material properties,
l n fi d . | accurate recording of post-installation nd n a a al
an a a d d testing of anchor. installation method, as well as many
an da a a a l a ll d a
and n fi d a n a l n a and a tension pull-out.
fi d an . dan n fi an a n dan a a la l The modelling of concrete cone
l. . . . on how to reduce and, in some cases, al a l a l n
a fi a n a n eliminate the impact of such issues. la n n d
fi d an . In addition to issues relating to the an and n a
installation of anchors, change can have material, along with the geometry of the
Duration of actions a pronounced impact on their design. anchor itself.
a fi d an ll d a n la a final an a a
n n a a n a d fin d n Ann change-control mechanism to ensure that d an a al n n
ld the underlying principles of the design concerns splitting of the concrete as
considered in its design and selection. a n nd n d y any an the anchor is installed, which typically
an an ll d a a dl n n ay a a. a l an al fi n .
seismic and/or shock actions, the check is very similar to the one for cone
d n and fi n d n a esign methodology al and al l d l.
the performance of the chosen anchor a fi d an n d d
can withstand this type of applied action. d an a Shear failure
quation a fi d n n a fi d an
Installation variables l a al ll n
a n all n a fi d an Ed ≤ Rd n d a l d

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 Technical Guidance Note | Level 2, No. 24 Technical

Design anchor
Applied practice

BS 8539:2012: Code of practice for the selection and

Specify anchor installation of post-installed anchors in concrete and
masonry
Yes
BS EN 1992-4:2018 Eurocode 2: Design of concrete
Procure anchor structures. Design of fastenings for use in concrete

Does procured Further reading

anchor differ to
specification?
O’Regan C. (2013) ‘Technical Guidance Note (Level 1,
No No. 29): Post fix anchors’, The Structural Engineer, 91
Yes (7), pp. 40–41
Install anchor Test anchor

No
Resources
No
Can anchor be Does anchor
reinstalled? pass testing?
Construction Fixings Association
www.the-cfa.co.uk

Yes European Organisation for Technical Assessment:

Certify anchor
European Technical Approval Guidelines
FIGURE 3: Process for design,
selection and installation of post-
www.eota.eu/en-GB/content/etags-used-as-ead/26/
fixed anchors

Ò| steel failure – the anchor Fig. 2 provides diagrammatic

itself breaks due to shear force representations of these modes of
across the bolt failure.
Ò| pry-out failure – the anchor
pulls out from the socket within
The final check for anchors
that are subject to a shear force
Eurocode
the base material concerns the edge of the concrete
Ò| concrete edge failure – the
anchor causes sections of
element the anchor is fixed into.
This check is similar to the one
CPD courses
concrete to fail when it is close for cone failure with regards to its
to the edge of the element it is method and complexity. Eurocode 1: actions on Eurocode 5: connections
fixed into structures for buildings and advanced topics in
Ò| combined pull-out and Combined actions 9 November 2020 timber design
concrete cone failure – When all the above issues have 12 May 2020
applies to bonded anchors been addressed, the combined Eurocode 2: design of
where the bonded anchor rod action of both shear and tension concrete structures Eurocode 6: masonry
pulls out of a section of resin can be considered and the anchor 9 December 2020 design
at the back of the hole and a can be deemed to be designed. 14 May 2020
cone forms at the front This is done by comparing the Eurocode 3: structural
Ò| concrete blowout failure design resistance of both tension steelwork design Foundation design to
– only applies to undercut and shear against the applied 12 March 2020 Eurocode 7
27 March 2020
anchors, so may not be forces and then summing them
Eurocode 4: composite
necessary. together.
design Design of retaining walls to
24 September 2020 Eurocode 7
19 October 2020
Eurocode 5: the essentials
of timber design Eurocode 9: design of
11 May 2020 aluminium structures
AECOM is built to deliver a better world. We design, build, 21 September 2020
finance and operate infrastructure assets for governments,
businesses and organisations in more than 150 countries. As
a fully integrated firm, we connect knowledge and experience Book online at:
across our global network of experts to help clients solve
their most complex challenges. istructe.org/cpd-2020

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