8.

4 Base plate with Shear and Anchor bolts

8.4.1 Base plate with Shear

Figure 8.7 Column base plate subjected to shear

Under normal circumstances, the factored column base shear is

adequately resisted by the frictional force developed between the plate and its
support. Additional shear capacity is also provided by the anchor bolts. For cases
in which exceptionally high force is expected, such as in bracing connection or in
which uplift occurs which reduces the frictional resistance, the use of shear lugs
may be necessary. Shear lugs can be based on the limit states of bearing on
concrete and bending of the lugs. The size of the lugs should be proportioned
such that the bearing stress on concrete does not exceed 0.60(0.85 f c). The
thickness of the lug can be determined from equation. M plu is the moment per unit

width at the critical section of the lug. The critical section is taken to be at the
junction of the lugs and the plate (Fig 8.7).

8.4.2 Anchor Bolts

Anchor bolts are provided to stabilize the column during erection and to
prevent uplift for cases involving large moments. Anchor bolts can be cast-inplace bolts or drilled-in bolts. The latter are placed after the concrete in set and
are not too often used. Their design is governed by the manufacturer's
specifications. Cast-in-place bolts are hooked bars, bolts, or threaded rods with
nuts (figure 8.8) placed before the concrete is set. Of the three types of cast-inplace anchors shown in the figure, the hooked bars are recommended for the
use only in axially loaded base plates.

Figure 8.8 Base plate anchors

They are not normally relied upon to carry significant tensile force. Bolts
and threaded rods with nuts can be used for either axially loaded base plates or

base plates with moments. Threaded rods with nuts are used for both axial
loaded base plates or base plates with moments. Threaded rods with nuts are
used when the length and size required for the specific design exceed those of
standard size bolts. Failure of bolts are threaded rods with nuts occur when their
tensile capacities are reached. Failure is also considered to occur when a cone
of concrete is pulled out from the pedestal. This cone pull-out type of failure is
deplicted schematically in Figure 8.9. The failure cone is assumed to radiate out
from the bolt head or nut at an angle of 45 degree with tensile failure occurring
along the surface of the cone at an average stress of 4 f 'c where fc' is the
compressive strength of concrete in psi. The load that will cause this cone pullout failure is given by the product of this average stress and the projected area
the cone Ap [23, 24]. The design of anchor bolts is thus governed by the limit
states of tensile fracture of the anchors and cone pull-out.

Limit State of Tensile Fracture

The area of the anchor should be such that
Ag

Tu
t 0.75Fu

Where Ag is the required gross area of the anchor ,F u is the minimum

specified tensile strength, and t is the resistance factor for tensile fracture which
is equal to 0.75.

Limit State of Cone Pull-Out

From Figure 8.9, it is clear that the size of the cone is a function of the
length of the anchor. Provided that there is sufficient edge distance and spacing

between adjacent anchors, the amount of tensile force required to cause cone
pull-out failure increases with the embedded length of the anchor. This concept
can be used to determine the required embedded length of the anchor. Assuming
that the failure can does not intersect

Figure 8.9 Cone Pullout failure

with another failure cone nor the edge of the pedestal, the required embedded
length can be calculated from the equation
L

Ap

Tu / 4

f 'c

Where Ap is the projected area of the failure cone, T u is the required bolt
force in pounds, fc' is the compressive strength of concrete in psi and t is the
resistance factored assumed to be equal to 0.75. If failure cone from adjacent
anchors overlap one another or intersect with the pedestal edge, the projected
area Ap must be adjusted according (see, for example [23, 24]).

The length calculated using the above equation should not be less than
the recommended values given by [29]. These values are reproduced in the
following table. Also shown in the table are the recommended minimum edge
distances for the anchors.

Bolts type (material)

Minimum edge distance

Minimum ambedded length

A307 (A36)

12d

5d > 4 in

A325 (A449)

17d

7d > 4 in

d = nominal diameter of the anchor