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FIRST IN A SERIES FOR 2003

The Latest Word on Building Codes
for Anchoring to Concrete
The codes have changed; what you need know to keep up!
by Richard E. Wollmershauser, P.E., FACI
The world of structural concrete has finally arrived
at the destination set out by American Concrete Institute
Committee 318 back in 1970, when it asked ACI to
create a Committee (ACI Committee 355, Anchorage to
Concrete) to develop design provisions for anchoring to
concrete. The new edition of ACI 318-02 contains a
new Appendix D Anchoring to Concrete that provides
detailed strength design provisions known as the
Concrete Capacity Design Method for both cast-in-place
bolts and post-installed mechanical anchors. These
provisions provide a strength design method that
includes consideration of anchor ductility, single anchors
as well as group interactions, tension zone influences,
and seismic requirements, among others.
Lets explore first what types of anchors are
covered, the relationships of the many related codes, and
then some discussion of the design methodology. We
will also discuss the pre-qualification of post-installed
anchors for use in these design provisions, since you
cant use the design methodology without the anchor
data.
WHAT ANCHORS ARE COVERED?
ACI 318-02 Appendix D contains provisions for
cast-in-place headed bolts, L-bolts, and J-bolts. And it
does include the common welded-stud anchors. New
in 2002 are provisions for post-installed (drilled-in)
mechanical anchors, specifically undercut anchors (like
the Hilti HDA), torque-controlled expansion anchors
(including the Hilti HSL and Kwik Bolt II anchor
systems), and displacement-controlled expansion
anchors (drop-in anchors such as the Hilti HDI anchor
system).
What are excluded? At this time, there are no
comparable design rules for adhesive bonded anchors
(commonly referred to as epoxy) or grouted anchors,
so these anchors are not included. Excluded are common
cast-in-place specialty embeds as well as all other post-
installed mechanical anchors, including the screw-type
anchors. ACI Committees 318 and 355 will be
addressing both bonded anchors (including grouted) and
some of the post-installed anchor systems not currently
addressed. It may take up to two years for the post-
installed mechanical anchors, and probably longer for
the bonded and grouted anchor systems for the design
method, and anchor prequalification requirements and
data to be available.
WHAT CODES ARE INVOLVED?
The new anchor strength design provisions are
found in Appendix D of ACI 318-02. In 2002 the
Portland Cement Association (PCA) and ACI were busy
giving 78 1-1/2 day long seminars across the United
States to explain the changes to ACI 318-99. Almost
one-half day of each seminar was devoted to Appendix
D. More seminars have been scheduled for 2003. So
far, many hundreds of design engineers have been made
aware of the details of Appendix D. PCA has prepared
their usual excellent document Notes on ACI 318-02
Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete.
Eighty-one pages are devoted to Appendix D, including
reference materials and eight detailed design examples.
The seminar and the book (which you receive as part of
the seminar) are highly recommended (even though it
wont make the N.Y. Times best seller list).
In turn, both the International Code Council (ICC)
and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
have adopted ACI 318-02 including Appendix D by
reference in the IBC 2000 and the NFPA 5000,
respectively. So whichever code is adopted by the local
jurisdiction, ACI 318 Appendix D will give the strength
design rules to use for anchoring to structural concrete.
Both cast-in-place and post-installed mechanical anchors
are code anchors and can be used for design, using
appropriate data. We will come back to this data issue a
little later.
The IBC 2000 contains SECTION 1913
ANCHORAGE TO CONCRETESTRENGTH DESIGN.
This is a pared down version of Appendix D that
includes only cast-in-place anchors as described above.
It was included in the IBC 2000 in the desire to have
design procedures for structural concrete anchors in the
code prior to being adopted by ACI 318. Because a
post-installed anchor prequalification standard had not
been completed when ACI 318-99 was finalized,
Appendix D was put on hold for inclusion in ACI 318
until 2002. Since there were no provisions for design
and pre-qualification of post-installed mechanical
anchors in the IBC 2000, ICBO ES in April 2002
adopted Acceptance Criteria for Mechanical Anchors in
Concrete Elements AC193 that references ACI 355.2-
01 as the method for pre-qualifying post-installed
mechanical anchors under the IBC 2000 (and the UBC
97). We will also come back to these documents a little
later.
With regard to seismic design, both the IBC 2003
and NFPA 5000 reference ASCE-7-02, Section 9, which
includes requirements for component anchorage
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(attachments). The user is pointed to the requirements
of Appendix D.
In summary;
IBC 2000 includes Section 1913 covering anchor
strength design for cast-in-place bolts only. Post-
installed mechanical anchors would be approved
under ICBO-ES acceptance criteria AC193.
IBC 2003 and NFPA 5000 both reference ACI 318-
02 including Appendix D Anchoring to Concrete
that includes both cast-in-place and post-installed
mechanical anchors.
The Design Method in Brief
Just what is this new design method in ACI 318
Appendix D? And what about the inclusion for use in
cracked concrete? The Concrete Capacity Design
(CCD) Method provides a relatively easy calculation
system for determining the load capacity of an anchor or
group of anchors under concrete breakout failure. The
complicated 45-degree intersecting cone model (Fig.1) is
replaced with easier to calculate 35-degree intersecting
rectangular prism model (see Fig. 2) for determining the
concrete resistance.
Fig. 145 Degree Intersecting Cone Model
Appendix D presents equations (or requires tests in
the case of pullout failure) for determining the ultimate
tension capacities of the three failure modes. These are
concrete failure, steel failure, and pullout failure (see
Fig. 3). The lowest value is the controlling tension
capacity of the anchor or group of anchors. Influencing
factors are applied depending on the edge distances,
anchor load eccentricity, and expected cracking of the
concrete. The basic equation for the tension capacity for
concrete breakout is:
5 1
3 2 1
.
ef
'
c
NO
N
cb
h f k
A
A
N = Y Y Y
where the Y factors are influencing factors for
eccentrically loaded anchors in groups, influence of
groups, and influence from cracks, respectively. The
ratio of areas (A
N
/A
NO
) represents the reduction in
capacity from close proximity of the anchors to each
other and to edges; the k factor is the value that is
determined from anchor prequalification testing; h
ef
is
the effective embedment depth of the anchor; and f
c
is
the concrete compressive strength.
Fig. 2New 35 Degree Intersecting Prism Model
Post-Installed Anchor Prequalification
While post-installed mechanical anchors are
recognized as code anchors in ACI 318-02 Appendix
D, they must undergo a series of pre-qualification tests
by an independent testing and evaluation agency to
determine their suitability in meeting the requirements of
Appendix D. Once successfully evaluated, the data is
published and the anchors can be used under the design
provisions of Appendix D. In 2001 ACI Committee 355
completed a standard titled Evaluating the Performance
of Post-Installed Mechanical Anchors in Concrete, ACI
355.2-01. This standard is referenced in ACI 318-02
Appendix D as acceptable for use in prequalifying
anchors. Included are tests in cracked concrete and tests
to determine the performance of anchors in simulated
earthquakes.
In April 2002, ICBO ES adopted an Acceptance
Criteria for Mechanical Anchors in Concrete Elements
AC193 for qualifying post-installed mechanical anchors
for use under the IBC 2000 and the UBC 97 using the
design provisions of ACI 318 Appendix D. AC193 uses
ACI 355.2-01 as the testing and evaluation program. As
of April 2003, no post-installed anchors have been
qualified under either AC193 or ACI 355.2.
Cracked Concrete
Next, lets turn to the issue of cracked concrete, or
more correctly stated, the tension zone. While not all
concrete cracks, under certain types of loading, there can
be tension zones in reinforced concrete. The reinforcing
bars limit the stretch of the concrete in these tension
zones. Since concrete has very little tensile capacity
2h
ef
h
ef
35
3 h
ef
h
ef
45
3
(about 10 percent of its compressive capacity), it is
expected that cracks will form. Under the design
provisions of ACI 318, crack widths at the concrete
surface could be expected to be as much as 0.012 to
0.16 inches (a 5 % fractile crack). These cracks change
the distribution of stresses in the concrete, and can lower
the load capacity of the anchors by up to 40 percent.
This is taken into account in the new design method.
Summary
The building codes in the US now have provisions
for the design of anchors in concrete. ACI 318-02
Appendix D contains the methodology, commonly
called the CCD method. The IBC 2003 and the NFPA
5000 have both included these provisions by reference.
For users of the IBC 2000 and the UBC 97, anchors
approved under ICBO-ES Acceptance Criteria AC193
can be used. Manufacturers are currently testing anchor
systems to develop data in conformance with ACI 355.2
and AC193 to be used with Appendix D.
In the next article, we will discuss the key technical
design requirements of Appendix D and the types of data
that will be available.
Richard Wollmershauser is Director Technical Services
for Hilti, Inc. of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has been active in
the concrete anchor industry for the past 20 years. He is
a registered PE in Ohio and Oklahoma and a Fellow of
the American Concrete Institute. He currently serves as
Chairman of ASTM Subcommittee E06.13, Performance
of Connections in Building Construction, and just
completed 7 years as Chairman of the American
Concrete Institute Committee 355, Anchorage to
Concrete. He was editor of the ACI State-of-the-Report
on Anchorage to Concrete (ACI 355R1-93). He also
serves on the Federation International du Beton Special
Activities Group 3 on Fastening to Concrete and
Masonry. He serves on two committees of the NEHRP
2003 Seismic Provisions Update program where he is
concerned with anchoring design methods.
Fig. 3Failure Modes of Anchors in Concrete
(b) Steel Failure Shear Loading
V
(c) Concrete Breakout under Tension Loading
N N
V V V V
(d) Concrete Breakout under Shear Loading
(a) Steel Failure Tension Loading
N