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 CONCRETE ADVICE No. 42

Holding down bolts to Eurocode 2

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Deryk Simpson, BSc CEng MICE

This document provides guidance on the design of holding down bolts for attaching steel
or precast concrete stanchions to reinforced or un-reinforced concrete foundations, using
(1) (2)
Eurocode 2 . Concrete Advice 5 covers the design of holding down bolts to BS 8110-
(3)
1 . Design approaches are given for resisting the uplift on the bolts and for the allowable
bearing pressure underneath the stanchion base plate. This document only covers bolts in
tension or compression and does not cover bolts in shear. A method for the design of
(4).
dowels is included in Concrete Society Technical Report No 34 Proprietary fixings are
not included in this document. The manufacture’s technical literature should be consulted
for the load capacity of proprietary fixings.

Cone shear stress = Design uplift load ÷

1 Uplift bolts in tension
Surface area of cone or cones

There are two possible ways of checking
bolts in uplift. The first is applicable to
single bolts and pairs of bolts, which are
effectively fully bonded over their full
embedded length and have small or no
anchor plates. The second method is
applicable if the bolts are not effectively
bonded over the embedded length but rely
on an i ndividual anchor plate for
embedment, or when a group of bolts is
fastened to a r elatively large stiff anchor
plate embedded in the concrete.
METHOD 1
Effectively fully bonded bolts
Note: Section 4 includes a method for
calculating the surface area of non-
intersecting cones and tabulated values
for the combined areas of pairs of
intersecting cones for different depths
and spacings of pairs of bolts.
The actual shear stress on the area of the
cones should be compared to the
allowable shear stress obtained from
(1)
Eurocode 2 Equation 6.47. In
unreinforced or nominally reinforced
sections the ρ1 term is zero so the
allowable shear stress becomes
(vmin + k1σcp).

Check shear stress In most foundations the horizontal stresses

The following procedure can be us ed to
check the depth and number of bolts in
tension, for fully bonded cast in bolts and
post-drilled and fully grouted bolts. This
method assumes the tension in the bolts is
resisted by shear stress on the surface
area of 90° cones of concrete within the
foundation around each bolt. The depth of
the cone is to be taken as the full depth of
the bolt for post-fixed bolts and t o the top
of the bolt anchor plate for cast-in bolts.
The uplift loads used in these calculations
is to be the relevant factored design
actions not the characteristic actions.
will be low, thus the allowable shear stress
becomes equal to vmin.
If the cone shear stress exceeds the
allowable shear stress then the bolts will
need to be deeper and/or more bolts
provided.
Check bond stress: Cast-in bolts
If the shear stress is less than the relevant
allowable shear stress the bond anchorage
of the individual bolts should be checked.
The method for calculating the anchorage
bond stress around a reinforcement bar in
(1)
Section 8.4 of Eurocode 2 should be
used.
 Page 2 of 4
(1)
However Eurocode 2 only covers the anchorage
of ribbed bars; the anchorage of plain bars is not
covered. If the embedded section of the bolt is
threaded full length or consists of a length of ribbed
reinforcement, the allowable bond strengths in
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Eurocode 2 are appropriate.
If the embedded length of the bolt is a n on-ribbed
(1)
plain bar then the calculations in Eurocode 2 are
theoretically not applicable. Engineering judgement
will be needed if the embedded bolts are of plain
round bars. There are two possible alternatives.
(1)
The method in Eurocode 2 could be used, but
with the bond strengths reduced to 55%. (This 55%
relationship is based upon Table 3.26 in BS 8110-
(3)
1 ). Alternatively the bond calculations for plain
(3)
bars in BS 8110-1 could be used.
If the actual bond stress exceeds the allowable
bond stress the bolts will need to be deeper and/or
more bolts provided.
Check bond stress: Post-grouted bolts
In the cases where bolts are grouted into drilled
holes it may be prudent to check two anchorage
bonds:
On the grout/bolt interface: The calculation will be
as for cast-in bolts, except that a value of allowable
bond stress will need to be determined for the grout
material, based upon the grout characteristic
strength or the manufacturers’ technical
information.
On the grout/drilled hole interface: The calculation
will be similar to that for cast-in bolts except that the
effective diameter will be the hole diameter and the
allowable bond stress will be the lesser of that for
the foundation concrete or the grout.
An assessment of the bond c haracteristics of the
perimeter of the drilled hole will need to be m ade.
This will depend on the roughness of the inside of
the hole. For a ‘ rough’ hole (e.g. produced by
percussive drilling) the bond stress appropriate for
deformed bars could be assumed. For a ‘ smooth’
hole (e.g. produced by diamond drilling) the bond
stress values appropriate to plain bars should be
used. If there is any doubt about the potential
roughness of the hole assume a ‘ smooth’ hole for
bond calculations purposes.
In all cases if bond stress exceeds the allowable
bond stress it will be nec essary to deepen and/or
increase the number of bolts.
METHOD 2
Anchor plate pull-out
This method assumes that the anchor plate
embedded in the concrete tries to pull out of the
concrete by a punching shear failure. The anchor
CONCRETE ADVICE NO. 42
plate effectively becomes the loaded area for
punching shear design, which is undertaken in
accordance with Section 6.4 in Eurocode 2, with the
section depth h shown in Figure 6.12 being taken
as the depth of embedment to the top of the anchor
plate. The anchor plate must be stiff enough so that
the uplift forces in the bolt(s) produce an even
distribution of compressive stress on the top face of
the plate. The majority of stanchion holding down
bolts will fall into this category, because in practice
the grouting up of the bolt cones around the bolts
cannot be as sumed to be fully effective in
transferring shear from the bolt into the surrounding
concrete.
Design procedure
Check the shear stress around the perimeter of the
anchor plate. If the shear stress exceeds the
allowable value it will be necessary to increase the
size of the anchor plate. The plate may require
stiffening if increased in size.
Then check the shear stress on the first critical
perimeter. If the shear stress exceeds the allowable
value there are a number of options available:
• Lengthen the bolts, thus setting the anchor
plate deeper into the concrete.
• Increase the size of the anchor plate. The plate
may require stiffening if increased in size.
• Increase the amount of top reinforcement to
increase the allowable shear stress.
• Provide punching shear reinforcement. This
would be regarded as a last resort due to the
practical difficulties and cost of installing shear
links in foundations. In this instance the shear
would have to be checked on the next punching
shear perimeter, and if necessary subsequent
shear perimeters.
Overall design
The bolts themselves should also be checked for
direct tension stresses. Also the foundations should
be designed to resist the uplift.
2 Baseplate sizing - compression
The following procedures will give the absolute
minimum stanchion base plate size and applies to
pin jointed bases only. This procedure assumes the
base plate has adequate stiffness to give a uniform
distribution of compressive stress. For stanchion
bases required to resist overturning moments refer
to the relevant codes of practice and design guides
for the design of the base plate size.
Use factored design loads not characteristic loads.
 Page 3 of 4 CONCRETE ADVICE NO. 42

Base plate area = Maximum design
compressive load ÷ Allowable ultimate bearing
stress
Two cases should be considered and the maximum
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Proprietary grouts: In practice proprietary grouts are
likely to be used. The compressive strength given in
the manufacturer’s literature should be used for
design. If no cylinder strength is quoted in the
literature the appropriate cylinder strength can be

area used. obtained from the cube to cylinder strength

Infill material to concrete foundation interface
Use the design method in Section 6.7 of Eurocode
2(1). The dimension h in Figure 6.29 will normally be
the depth of the foundation. The fcd value in
Equation 6.63 will be that for the foundation
concrete. For axially loaded symmetrical bases Ac1
in Figure 6.29 may be the plan area of the base.
relationships indicated in Table 3.1 of Eurocode 2(1).
Fine concrete: Designed concrete with a small
aggregate to suit the intended thickness of the infill.
The other materials defined in Table 1 are as
follows (the proportions and strengths are taken
from Reference 5);

Base plate to grout/infill material interface
Use the design method in Section 6.7 of Eurocode
2(1), taking the ratio Ac1/Ac0 in Equation 6.63 as 1.0.
The fcd value in Equation 6.63 will be that for the
grout/infill material. Table 1 l ists typical values for
the characteristic strength of grout/infill materials.
Table 1: Typical values for grout/infill material
characteristic cube strengths
• Grout: Mixture of cement (usually Portland
cement) to water in proportion of about 2:1 by
weight.
• Sanded grout: Mixture of cement, sand and
water in approximately equal proportions by
weight.
• Mortar: Mixture of cement, sand and water in
proportions of about 1:3:0.4 by weight.

Material Characteristic Characteristic

cube strength cylinder strength 3 Surface area cones around embedded bolts
2
(N/mm²) (N/mm )
Cement 12 – 15 10 -12 Single bolts
grout The surface area (AS) of a 90° cone around a
Sanded 15 – 20 12 - 16 single bolt of embedded depth D is:
grout
2
Mortar 20 – 25 16 - 20 AS = 4.443 × D

Fine Use characteristic Use characteristic
concrete cube strength (28 cylinder strength
day) (28 day)
Proprietary Refer to manufactures literature
grouts
Notes
The design bearing stresses can be us ed as the
maximum values for the design of base plates that
are subject to an o verturning movement or non-
uniform stress distribution.
The procedures given above assume a uniform
distribution of stress below the base plate, i.e. that
the base plate is stiff. If the stress is not uniform,
i.e. a flexible base plate, different procedures will be
needed to size the base plate.
Note: This equation cannot be used if bolts are
closer together than 2D or closer to the edge of a
foundation than 1.5D.
Pairs of bolts
D = embedded depth of the bolts
X = horizontal distance between the bolt
centres
AD = combined surface area of the two 90°
cones around the bolts.
2
If X is greater than 2D, AD = 8.886 D
If X is less than 2D the cones overlap.
The values for AD are listed in Table 2, which is
based on information in Reference 5).
 Page 4 of 4 CONCRETE ADVICE NO. 42

Table 2: Effective conical areas for overlapping cones.

Dimension X (mm)
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D 100 150 200 300 450 600 750 1000

(mm)
EFFECTIVE CONICAL AREA OF TWO CONES
3 2
( ×10 mm )
100 71.5 82.5 88.9 88.9 88.9 88.9 88.9 88.9
150 141.6 160.8 178.0 199.9 199.9 199.9 199.9 199.9
200 233.7 260.5 28.59 329.8 355.4 355.4 355.4 355.4
300 484.3 525.8 566.4 643.4 742.0 799.7 799.7 799.7
450 1027 1090 1152 1274 1448 1602 1728 1799
600 1769 1853 1937 2103 2345 2574 2784 3072
750 2711 2817 2922 3131 3439 3737 4021 4451
1000 4726 4867 5008 5288 5705 6114 6513 7149

References
1. BSI. BS EN 1992-1-1: 2004 Eurocode 2: Design of concrete structures – Part 1-1: General rules and
rules for buildings
2. THE CONCRETE SOCIEITY. Holding down bolts, suggested design procedures using BS 8110-1,
Concrete Advice Sheet 5, The Concrete Society 2009
3. BSI. BS 8110-1: 1997 Structural use of concrete, Part 1: Code of practice for design and construction,
4. THE CONCRETE SOCIEITY. Concrete industrial ground floors – A guide to design and c onstruction,
Technical Report 34, 4th Edition, The Concrete Society, Camberley, 2013 (revised 2016)
5. Holding down systems for steel stanchions, Concrete Society, Cement and C oncrete Association and
CONSTRADO, 1980

Further reading
STEEL CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE. P358 Joints in steel construction: simple joints to Eurocode 3,
SCI, Ascot, 2014
STEEL CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE. P398 Joints in steel construction: moment-resisting joints to
Eurocode 3, SCI, Ascot, 2015

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Issued Nov 2010

Revised Sept 2017

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