DESIGN OF COLUMN BASE

PLATES AND STEEL ANCHORAGE

TO CONCRETE
Khaled Eid

Outline

Introduction
Base plates
Material
Design using AISC Steel Design Guide

Concentric axial load

Axial load plus moment
Axial load plus shear

Anchor Rods
Types and Materials
Design using ACI Appendix D

Tension
Shear

Introduction

Base plates and anchor rods are often the last

structural steel items to be designed but the first items
required on the jobsite
Therefore the design of column base plate and
connections are part of the critical path

Introduction

Anchors to appear in concrete drawings with location of

each anchor in x and y direction
Pedestal should be designed to suit the supporting
column and anchors

Usually allow for enough edge distance of 6d bolt

Usually use to nuts to avoid slip

Introduction

Vast majority of column base plate connections are

designed for axial compression with little or no uplift
Column base plate connections can also transmit uplift
forces and shear forces through:
Anchor rods
Bearing end plate
Shear lugs under the base plate or embedding the column
base to transfer the shear force.

Column base plate connections can also be used to

resist wind and seismic loads

Development of force couple between bearing on concrete

and tension in some or all of the anchor rods

Introduction

Anchor rods are needed for all base plates to prevent

column from overturning during construction and in some
cases to resist uplift or large moments
Anchor rods are designed for pullout and breakout
strength using ACI 318 Appendix D
Critical to provide well-defined, adequate load path
when tension and shear loading will be transferred
through anchor rods
In seismic zones the pedestal should carry 2.5 the
factored design load

Introduction

Grout is needed to adjust the level

Grout to transfer the load from steel plate to
foundation
Grout should have design compressive strength at least
twice the strength of foundation concrete
When base plates become larger than 600mm, it is
recommended that one or two grout holes be provided
to allow the grout to flow easier

Base plate Materials

Base plates should be ASTM A36 material unless other

grade is available
Most base plates are designed as to match the
pedestal shape
A thicker base plate is more economical than a thinner
base plate with additional stiffeners or other
reinforcements

Base Plate Design

Design of Axially Loaded Base Plates

Required plate area is based on uniform allowable

bearing stress. For axially loaded base plates, the bearing
stress under the base plate is uniform
f p max = c 0.85 f c`

A2
1.7 f c`
A1

A2 = dimensions of concrete supporting foundation

A1 = dimensions of base plate

Most economical plate occurs when ratio of concrete to

plate area is equal to or greater than 4 (Case 1)
When the plate dimensions are known it is not possible to
calculate bearing pressure directly and therefore different
procedure is used (Case 2)

Case 1: A2 > 4A1

1.
2.

Determine factored load Pu

Calculate required plate area A1 based on maximum
concrete bearing stress fp=1.7f`c (when A2=4A1)
A1( req ) =

3.

Pu
0.6 1.7 f c`

Plate dimensions B & N should

be determined so m & n are
approximately equal
N = A1( req ) +
B=

A1( req)
N

0.95d 0.8b f
2

Case 1: A2 > 4A1

4.

Calculate required base plate thickness

N 0.95d
m=
2

t min

n=

B 0.8b f
2

2 Pu
=l
0.90 Fy BN

where l is maximum of m and n

5.

Determine pedestal area, A2

A2 = 4 BN

Case 2: Pedestal dimensions known

Determine factored load Pu
2.The area of the plate should be equal to larger of:
1.

Pu
1
A1 =

A2 0.60 0.85 f c`
3.
4.

Same as Case 1
Same as Case 1

Pu
A1 =
0.6 1.7 f c`

Design of Base Plates with Moments

Equivalent eccentricity, e, is calculated equal to moment M

divided by axial force P
Moment and axial force replaced by equivalent axial force at
a distance e from center of column
Small eccentricities equivalent axial force resisted by
bearing only
Large eccentricities necessary to use an anchor bolt to resist
equivalent axial force

Design of Base Plate with Small

Eccentricities
If e<N/6 compressive bearing stress exist everywhere

f1, 2

P Mc
=

BN
I

If e is between N/6 and N/2 bearing occurs only over a portion

of the plate

2P
f1 =
AB

Design of Base Plate with Small

Eccentricities
1.
2.

Calculate factored load (Pu) and moment (Mu)

Determine maximum bearing pressure, fp
f p = c 0.85 f c`

3.
4.

5.

A2
1.7 f c`
A1

Pick a trial base plate size, B and N

Determine equivalent eccentricity, e, and maximum bearing
stress from load, f1. If f1 < fp go to next step, if not pick
different base plate size
Determine plate thickness, tp
tp =

4 M plu
1.
0.90 Fy

Mplu is moment for 1 in wide strip

Design of Base Plate with Shear

Four principal ways of transferring shear from column base

plate into concrete
1.

2.
3.
4.

Friction between base plate and the grout or concrete

surface
Vn = Pu 0.2 f c` Ac
The friction coefficient () is 0.55 for steel on grout and
0.7 for steel on concrete
Embedding column in foundation
Use of shear lugs
Shear in the anchor rods (revisited later in lecture)

Design of Shear Lugs

1.

2.

Determine the portion of shear which will be resisted by shear

lug, Vlgu
Determine required bearing area of shear lug
Alg =

3.
4.

Vlg u
0.85f c`

Determine shear lug width, W, and height, H

Determine factored cantilevered end moment, Mlgu
Vlg u H + G

M lg u =

W 2

5.

Determine shear lug thickness

tlg =

4 M lg u
0.90 Fy

Anchor Rods

Two categories
Cast-in place: set before the concrete is placed
Drilled-in anchors: set after the concrete is hardened

Anchor Rod Materials

Preferred specification is ASTM F1554

Grade 36, 55, 105 ksi
ASTM F1554 allows anchor rods to be supplied straight
(threaded with nut for anchorage) , bent or headed
Wherever possible use -in diameter ASTM F1554 Grade
36
When more strength required, increase rod diameter to 2
in before switching to higher grade
Minimum embedment is 12 times diameter of bolt

Cast-in Place Anchor Rods

When rods with threads and nut are used, a more positive
anchorage is formed
Failure mechanism is the pull out of a cone of concrete
radiating outward from the head of the bolt or nut
Use of plate washer does not add any increased
resistance to pull out
Hooked bars have a very limited
pullout strength compared with that of
headed rods or threaded rods with
a nut of anchorage

Anchor Rod Placement

Most common field problem is placement of anchor rods

Important to provide as large as hole as possible to
accommodate setting tolerances
Fewer problems if the structural steel detailer issued anchor
bolt layout for placing the anchors form his 3d model

Anchor Rod Layout

Should use a symmetrical pattern in both directions

wherever possible
Should provide ample clearance distance for the
washer from the column
Edge distance plays important role for concrete
breakout strength
Should be coordinated with reinforcing steel to
ensure there are no interferences, more critical in
concrete piers and walls

Design of Anchor Rods for Tension

When base plates are subject to uplift force Tu,

embedment of anchor rods must be checked for tension
Steel strength of anchor in tension
N s = Ase f ut

Ase =effective cross sectional area of anchor, AISC Steel Manual Table 7-18
fut= tensile strength of anchor, not greater than 1.9fy or 125 ksi

Concrete breakout strength of single anchor in tension

N cb =

AN
2 3 N b
A No

Nb = k

f c` hef1.5

hef=embedment
k=24 for cast-in place anchors, 17 for post-installed anchors
2, 3 = modification factors

Design of Anchor Rods for Tension

ANo=Projected area of the failure

surface of a single anchor remote
from edges

AN=Approximated as the base of

the rectilinear geometrical figure
that results from projecting the
failure surface outward 1.5hef from
the centerlines of the anchor
Example of calculation of AN with edge
distance (c1) less than 1.5hef

ANo = 9hef2

AN = (c1 + 1.5hef )(2 1.5hef )

Design of Anchor Rods for Tension

Pullout strength of anchor

N pn = 4 Abrg 8 f c`

Nominal strength in tension Nn = min(Ns, Ncb, Npn)

Compare uplift from column, Tu, to Nn
If Tu less than Nn ok
If Tu greater than Nn must provide tension
reinforcing around anchor rods or increase
embedment of anchor rods

Design of Anchor Rods for Shear

When base plates are subject to shear force, Vu, and friction
between base plate and concrete is inadequate to resist
shear, anchor rods may take shear
Steel Strength of single anchor in shear

.2
Concrete breakout strength of single 0anchor
in shear

Vs = Ase f ut

Vcb =

Av
6 7Vb
Avo

l
Vb = 7
do

do

f c` c11.5

6, 7 = modification factors
do = rod diameter, in
l = load bearing length of anchor for shear not to exceed 8do, in

Design of Anchor Rods for Shear

Avo=Projected area of the failure

surface of a single anchor remote from
edges in the direction perpendicular to
the shear force

Av=Approximated as the base of a

truncated half pyramid projected on
the side face of the member

Avo = 4.5(c1 )

Example of calculation of Av with edge distance

(c2) less than 1.5c1

Av = 1.5c1 (1.5c1 + c2 )

Design of Anchor Rods for Shear

Pryout strength of anchor

Vcp = kcp N cb

Nominal strength in shear Vn = min(Vs, Vcb, Vcp)

Compare shear from column, Vu, to Vn
If Vu less than Vn ok
If Vu greater than Vn must provide shear
reinforcing around anchor rods or use shear lugs

Combined Tension and Shear

According to ACI 318 Appendix D, anchor rods must be

checked for interaction of tensile and shear forces
Tu
V
+ u 1.2
N n Vn

References

American Concrete Institute (ACI) 318-02

AISC Steel Design Guide, Column Base Plates, by John T. DeWolf, 1990

AISC Steel Design Guide (2nd Edition) Base Plate and Anchor Rod Design

AISC Engineering Journal Anchorage of Steel Building Components to

Concrete, by M. Lee Marsh and Edwin G. Burdette, First Quarter 1985

Common mistakes

Careful when considering the location of anchors

to concrete walls

Bolts miss alignment or clash with gusset plate