Tension Force

s s
Transverse splitting

Ld
2 cos 1

Ld
s L 2L
2 d

d Shaded = L 2 +s d 0 2 360 Area (a) Two Intersecting Failure Cones

L s4
2 d

Figure 31 Transverse splitting failure mode (Ref. [2])

It is interesting to note that in the case of shallow anchor bolts the angle at the bolt head formed by the failure cone tends to increase from 90 degrees to 120 degrees. An anchor bolt is classified as shallow when its length is less than 5in. (127 mm). Nevertheless for design purposes caution should be applied is using angles greater than 90 degrees as cracks might be present at the concrete surface. It is recommended not use angles other than 90 degrees. [2][17] The previous considerations assume the concrete element to be stress-free and only subjected to the anchor bolts loading. [2] and [17] consider the case when there is a state of biaxial compression and tension in the plane of the concrete. The former loading condition would be beneficial to the anchor bolts strength while the latter loading state would lead to a significantly decrease in strength. Nevertheless, it is in the opinion of the ACI 349 Committee that a failure cone angle of 90 degrees can still be utilised as it is assumed that any cracking would be controlled by the main reinforcement designed in accordance with current concrete codes, i.e. AS 3600 [10]. The design procedure proposed by ACI 349 and [17] is also recommended by DeWolf in [21]. [21] notes that the use of cored holes, such as shown in Fig. 32, should not reduce the anchorage capacity based on the failure cone, provided that the cored hole does not extend near the bottom of the bolt. This situation should be avoided if the dimensions shown in Fig. 32 are followed. [26]
Projection

Ld
s 2

Ld

Ld
2 cos 1

+ Ld
+s 2

Area = L 2 d

s L 2L
d

2 d

360 0

L s4
2 d

Circle - Sector + Triangle (b) Failure Cone Near an Edge (Note: the inverse cosine term listed in the equations is in degrees)

Figure 29 Calculation of the projected area of two intersecting failure cones or one failure cone near an edge (Ref. [30])
Simple procedures to calculate the effective tensile areas of bolt groups are provided in [30], i.e. the procedure to calculate two intersecting cones is shown in Fig. 29. [30] Depending upon the bolt group layout other possible failure modes could take place such as the one shown in Fig. 30 where an entire part of the concrete foundation would pull-out. In such cases the effective tensile area should be calculated selecting the smallest projected area due to the possible concrete failure surfaces as shown in Fig. 30. A similar average tensile strength as in the case of the pull-out cones can be adopted. [2][17] Tension Force

Figure 30 Potential Failure Mode with limited depth (Ref. [2])

Transverse splitting is another failure mode which can occur between anchor heads of an anchor bolt group when their centre-to-centre spacing is less than the anchor bolt depth and is shown in Fig. 31. This failure mode occurs at a load similar to the one required to cause a pull-out cone failure in uncracked concrete and therefore no additional design checks need to be considered. [2][17]

3d f but 75mm df

Ld

Figure 32 Suggested layout for Cored Holes to Permit Minor Adjustments in Position on Site (Ref. [26])

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STEEL CONSTRUCTION VOLUME 36 NUMBER 2 SEPT 2002