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 CONCRETE ADVICE No. 42

Holding down bolts to Eurocode 2

Licensed copy: leedsm, LEEDS BECKETT UNIVERSITY, 19/01/2022, Uncontrolled Copy, © Concrete Society

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

Check shear stress In most foundations the horizontal stresses

The following procedure can be us ed to will be low, thus the allowable shear stress
check the depth and number of bolts in becomes equal to vmin.
tension, for fully bonded cast in bolts and
post-drilled and fully grouted bolts. This If the cone shear stress exceeds the
method assumes the tension in the bolts is allowable shear stress then the bolts will
resisted by shear stress on the surface need to be deeper and/or more bolts
area of 90° cones of concrete within the provided.
foundation around each bolt. The depth of
the cone is to be taken as the full depth of Check bond stress: Cast-in bolts
the bolt for post-fixed bolts and t o the top If the shear stress is less than the relevant
of the bolt anchor plate for cast-in bolts. allowable shear stress the bond anchorage
The uplift loads used in these calculations of the individual bolts should be checked.
is to be the relevant factored design The method for calculating the anchorage
actions not the characteristic actions. bond stress around a reinforcement bar in
(1)
Section 8.4 of Eurocode 2 should be
used.
 Page 2 of 4 CONCRETE ADVICE NO. 42
(1)
However Eurocode 2 only covers the anchorage plate effectively becomes the loaded area for
of ribbed bars; the anchorage of plain bars is not punching shear design, which is undertaken in
covered. If the embedded section of the bolt is accordance with Section 6.4 in Eurocode 2, with the
threaded full length or consists of a length of ribbed section depth h shown in Figure 6.12 being taken
reinforcement, the allowable bond strengths in as the depth of embedment to the top of the anchor
Licensed copy: leedsm, LEEDS BECKETT UNIVERSITY, 19/01/2022, Uncontrolled Copy, © Concrete Society

Eurocode 2 are appropriate. plate. The anchor plate must be stiff enough so that
the uplift forces in the bolt(s) produce an even
If the embedded length of the bolt is a n on-ribbed distribution of compressive stress on the top face of
(1)
plain bar then the calculations in Eurocode 2 are the plate. The majority of stanchion holding down
theoretically not applicable. Engineering judgement bolts will fall into this category, because in practice
will be needed if the embedded bolts are of plain the grouting up of the bolt cones around the bolts
round bars. There are two possible alternatives. cannot be as sumed to be fully effective in
(1)
The method in Eurocode 2 could be used, but transferring shear from the bolt into the surrounding
with the bond strengths reduced to 55%. (This 55% concrete.
relationship is based upon Table 3.26 in BS 8110-
(3)
1 ). Alternatively the bond calculations for plain Design procedure
(3)
bars in BS 8110-1 could be used. Check the shear stress around the perimeter of the
anchor plate. If the shear stress exceeds the
If the actual bond stress exceeds the allowable allowable value it will be necessary to increase the
bond stress the bolts will need to be deeper and/or size of the anchor plate. The plate may require
more bolts provided. stiffening if increased in size.

Check bond stress: Post-grouted bolts Then check the shear stress on the first critical
In the cases where bolts are grouted into drilled perimeter. If the shear stress exceeds the allowable
holes it may be prudent to check two anchorage value there are a number of options available:
bonds:
• Lengthen the bolts, thus setting the anchor
On the grout/bolt interface: The calculation will be plate deeper into the concrete.
as for cast-in bolts, except that a value of allowable • Increase the size of the anchor plate. The plate
bond stress will need to be determined for the grout may require stiffening if increased in size.
material, based upon the grout characteristic • Increase the amount of top reinforcement to
strength or the manufacturers’ technical increase the allowable shear stress.
information. • Provide punching shear reinforcement. This
would be regarded as a last resort due to the
On the grout/drilled hole interface: The calculation practical difficulties and cost of installing shear
will be similar to that for cast-in bolts except that the links in foundations. In this instance the shear
effective diameter will be the hole diameter and the would have to be checked on the next punching
allowable bond stress will be the lesser of that for shear perimeter, and if necessary subsequent
the foundation concrete or the grout. shear perimeters.

An assessment of the bond c haracteristics of the Overall design

perimeter of the drilled hole will need to be m ade.
This will depend on the roughness of the inside of The bolts themselves should also be checked for
the hole. For a ‘ rough’ hole (e.g. produced by direct tension stresses. Also the foundations should
percussive drilling) the bond stress appropriate for be designed to resist the uplift.
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 2 Baseplate sizing - compression
roughness of the hole assume a ‘ smooth’ hole for
bond calculations purposes. The following procedures will give the absolute
minimum stanchion base plate size and applies to
In all cases if bond stress exceeds the allowable pin jointed bases only. This procedure assumes the
bond stress it will be nec essary to deepen and/or base plate has adequate stiffness to give a uniform
increase the number of bolts. distribution of compressive stress. For stanchion
bases required to resist overturning moments refer
METHOD 2 to the relevant codes of practice and design guides
Anchor plate pull-out for the design of the base plate size.
This method assumes that the anchor plate Use factored design loads not characteristic loads.
embedded in the concrete tries to pull out of the
concrete by a punching shear failure. The anchor
 Page 3 of 4 CONCRETE ADVICE NO. 42

Base plate area = Maximum design Proprietary grouts: In practice proprietary grouts are
compressive load ÷ Allowable ultimate bearing likely to be used. The compressive strength given in
stress the manufacturer’s literature should be used for
design. If no cylinder strength is quoted in the
Two cases should be considered and the maximum literature the appropriate cylinder strength can be
Licensed copy: leedsm, LEEDS BECKETT UNIVERSITY, 19/01/2022, Uncontrolled Copy, © Concrete Society

area used. obtained from the cube to cylinder strength

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

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

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 Note: This equation cannot be used if bolts are
concrete cube strength (28 cylinder strength closer together than 2D or closer to the edge of a
day) (28 day) foundation than 1.5D.
Proprietary Refer to manufactures literature
grouts Pairs of bolts
D = embedded depth of the bolts
Notes X = horizontal distance between the bolt
The design bearing stresses can be us ed as the centres
maximum values for the design of base plates that AD = combined surface area of the two 90°
are subject to an o verturning movement or non- cones around the bolts.
uniform stress distribution.
2
If X is greater than 2D, AD = 8.886 D
The procedures given above assume a uniform
distribution of stress below the base plate, i.e. that If X is less than 2D the cones overlap.
the base plate is stiff. If the stress is not uniform,
i.e. a flexible base plate, different procedures will be The values for AD are listed in Table 2, which is
needed to size the base plate. 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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