The behaviour of anchor plates in clay

Abstract

The undrained behaviour of anchor plates with a vertical or horizontal axis, resting in a saturated clay, is examined. Theoretical consideration is given to the effects of anchor embedment, layer depth, overburden pressure and breakaway condition as well as anchor roughness, thickness and shape. The influence of these parameters on the failure mechanism and the anchor capacity is discussed. It is shown that in many cases ultimate collapse is preceded by significant anchor displacement and a definition of failure which allows reasonable displacement prédictions to be made at working loads is proposed. Model tests for anchors with a vertical axis are reported. A comparison of these results and other published data with the theoretical solutions indicates encouraging agreement. The results of this study are presented in the form of charts which may be used directly in hand calculations for estimating the undrained failure load for anchor plates. © 1982, Thomas Telford Ltd. All rights reserved.