Anchor Plate Design

Program to design anchor (base) plates of anchor fastenings

The program "FE-Platte" designs and calculates anchor plates of any geometry according the “Finite–Element-
Method”. It is based on the theory of elasticity. As loading a tension force and two bending moments are
allowed. The software „PROFIS Anchor“ fills in the necessary input automatically. It is assumed, that the loading
acts in the centre of gravity of the profile. The resulting load Sd (design load) is calculated according the equation
using partial safety factors (for methods like ETAG, SOFA SOCOTEC etc..)

Sd = 1.35SkG + 1.5SkQ

with SkG = permanent loads and SkQ = variable loads. For other methods like HNA, ICC-s or ACI 318/AC193 the
governing load is assumed to be acting on the profile-plate-anchor system.

First the stress distribution beneath the anchor is calculated. It is assumed that the cross-section remains even
(Bernoulli Hypothesis). Furthermore, tension forces can not be carried by the interface layer between concrete
and anchor plate. The behaviour of concrete under compression in the contact area and the behaviour of the
anchor are considered as linear-elastic. For the calculation of the section (inner) forces in the anchor plate the
stresses, which are determined as described above, are applied as loading. The FE mesh is generated
automatically using plate-elements with 3 or 4 nodes. At start, for the dimensioning of the elements the double
anchor plate thickness is decisive. Based on the characteristic steel resistance for shear (VRk,s) of the selected
anchor the minimal required thickness is calculated as below

VRk,s
t min =
1.25 d f f yk / y s

with fyk = characteristic yield strength of the anchor (base) plate steel, γs = material safety factor of the steel and
df = diameter of clearance hole. As the FEM does not recognise shear load, it is vital to provide a minimum
shear stiffness for the anchor plate (tmin). This Hilti defined tmin does ensure, that the shear capacity of the anchor
can be fully activated during the service life of the fastening. The above presented calculation is valid with the
Hilti default settings of the software. All nodes of the profile perpendicular to the plane of the anchor (base) plate
are assumed as supports. The stiffness of the profile is taken into account by the beam (truss) elements.

On the basis of the system described above, the resulting bending moment Mmax is calculated, which is related
to the unit width of the plate. The required anchor (base) plate thickness is calculated as follows:

6 Mmax
t req =
f yk / y s

As long as tmin ≥ treq or if only shear forces are acting on the fastening, the output gives tmin.

The calculated bending moments depend on the size of the elements when the FE-calculation is based on the
theory of elasticity and a strain gradient exists. The smaller the size of an element is the higher the stresses
become. To assure realistic results the size of the elements is chosen as two times the plate thickness. This
means, that the stresses in a distance of t/2 from the edge of the welded on profile are assumed to be decisive.
This assumption is on the safe side. Furthermore it is guaranteed that the assumptions (stiff anchor plate) to
calculate the anchor reactions are applied with a sufficient accuracy.