ANCHOR RODS OR THREADED RODS

Cast-in-place anchor rods, illustrated in Figure 8-14, are generally made from unheaded
rod material or headed bolt material. Drilled-in anchor rods, illustrated in Figure 8-15,
are not normally used; their design is governed by manufacturers specifications. Refer
also to Cannon, Godfrey, and Moreadith (1981).
LRFD Specification Section A3.4 permits the use of unheaded rod material from the
following ASTM specifications as anchor rods or threaded rods: A36, A193, A354, A449,
A572, A588, and A687. Additionally, LRFD Specification Section A3.4 permits the use
of headed bolts conforming to the provisions of LRFD Specification Section A3.3 for use
as anchor rods. Headed bolts, however, are generally available only in lengths up to about
eight inches. Furthermore, designations such as ASTM A325, A490, and A307 apply only
to bolts manufactured with a head and it is, therefore, improper to specify unheaded
anchor rods or other similar threaded devices as ASTM A325, A490, or A307.
The availability and strength of the aforementioned ASTM specifications for unheaded
rod material and headed bolt material are summarized in Table 8-26. Suitable nuts may
be selected from ASTM A563 or ASTM A194 grade 7. Because base plates typically have
holes larger than oversized holes to allow for tolerances on the location of the anchor rod,
washers are usually furnished from ASTM A36 steel plate; they may be round, square,
or rectangular, are generally about
1

2
-in. thick, and generally have holes which are
1

16
-in.
larger than the anchor rod diameter.
Minimum Edge Distance and Embedment Length
The recommendations of Shipp and Haninger (1983) for minimum anchor-rod (concrete)
edge distance and embedment length for tensile forces, adopted from ACI 349, are
summarized in Table 8-26. The edge distance requirement is intended to prevent blow-out
of the side of the concrete foundation and is based on concrete with f
c
=3,000 psi. For
edge distance requirements for shear, refer to Shipp and Haninger (1983).
In addition to providing the recommended minimum embedment length, anchor rods
must extend a distance above the foundation that is sufficient to permit full thread
engagement of the nut; from RCSC Specification Section 2(b), the end of the [anchor
rod] will be flush with or outside the face of the nut when properly installed.
(a) Hooked (b) Headed (c) Threaded with Nut
L
h
Fig. 8-14. Typical cast-in-place anchor rods.
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF STEEL CONSTRUCTION
8 - 88 BOLTS, WELDS, AND CONNECTED ELEMENTS
Note that it is seldom possible to fully tension anchor rods since the concrete usually
cannot provide the necessary anchorage.
Welding to Anchor Rods
Though not typical, welds must sometimes be used in lieu of nuts to attach anchor rods
to base plates. The use of weldable steels such as ASTM A36 or A572 is recommended
for this purpose; anchor-rod material which is quenched and tempered should not be
welded.
Hooked Anchor Rods
Hooked anchor rods should be used only for axially loaded columns to locate and prevent
the displacement or overturning of columns due to erection loads or accidental collisions
during erection. Additionally, high-strength steels are not recommended for use in hooked
rods since bending with heat may materially affect their strength.
For the hooked rod of Figure 8-14a, the tensile force is resisted through bond
development along the length and the mechanical anchorage of the hook. However,
because smooth rods do not always form a reliable bond (due to oil used in threading
among other things), the design of such anchor rods should be based upon the anchorage
provided by the hook only. To prevent the anchor rod from pulling out and straightening,
the hook should be designed to resist one-half the design tensile strength of the anchor
rod R
n
,
where
=0.75
R
n
=
t
F
u
A
g
In the above equation,
t
=0.75. From Fisher (1981), the bearing strength of the
concrete is:
0.7f
c
dL
h
Grout
Fig. 8-15. Drilled-in anchor rods.
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF STEEL CONSTRUCTION
ANCHOR RODS OR THREADED RODS 8 - 89
Thus, the minimum hook length L
h min
is:
L
h min
=
R
n
2
0.7f
c
d
wheref
c
is the specified strength of the concrete, ksi. The total embedded anchor rod
length is then the hook length L
h
plus the minimum embedment length from Table 8-26.
Headed Anchor Rods
When anchor rods are required for a calculated tensile force T
u
, a more positive anchorage
is formed when headed anchor rods, illustrated in Figure 8-14b, are used. With adequate
embedment and edge distance, the limit state is either a tensile failure of the anchor rod
or the pull-out of a cone of concrete radiating outward from the head (Marsh and Burdette,
1985a) as illustrated in Figure 8-16.
The design tensile strength of the anchor rod is R
n
,
U
n
h
e
a
d
e
d

R
o
d
M
a
t
e
r
i
a
l

(
O
n
l
y
)
H
e
a
d
e
d

B
o
l
t

o
r
U
n
h
e
a
d
e
d

R
o
d
M
a
t
e
r
i
a
l
H
e
a
d
e
d
B
o
l
t

M
a
t
.
(
O
n
l
y
)
Table 8-26.
Anchor Rod Material Availability and Strength
Type
ASTM
Design.
Availability Strength
Minimum
Embdmt.
Length,
in.
Minimum
Edge
Dist., in.
e
Material
Type
b
Grade
Diameter,
d, in.
Proof
Load
Min.
Yield,
ksi
Min.
Tensile,
ksi
A36 C to 8 36 58 12d 5d
A572 HSLA 42 to 2 42 60 12d 5d
50 to 6 50 65 17d 7d
A588 HSLA, ACR to 4 50 70 17d 7d
over 4 to 5 46 67 17d 7d
over 5 to 8 42 63 17d 7d
A687 A, QT, NT
5
8 to 3 105 150
c
19d 7d
A354 A, QT BD
1
4 to 2
1
2 120 130 150 19d 7d
over 2
1
2 to 4 105 115 140 19d 7d
BC
1
4 to 2
1
2 105 109 125 17d 7d
over 2
1
2 to 4 95 99 115 17d 7d
A449
d
C, QT
1
4 to 1 85 92 120 17d 7d
1
1
8 to 1
1
2 74 81 105 17d 7d
1
3
4 to 3 55 58 90 17d 7d
A307 C to 4 60 12d 5d
A325
a,d
C, QT
1
2 to 1 85 92 120 17d 7d
1
1
8 to 1
1
2 74 81 105 17d 7d
A490
a,d
A, QT
1
2 to 1
1
2 120 150 19d 7d
a
Available with weathering (atmospheric corrosion resistance) characteristics comparable to ASTM A242 and
A588 steels.
b
A =Alloy Steel
b
ACR =Atmospheric-Corrosion-Resistant Steel
b
C =Carbon Steel
b
HSLA =High-Strength Low-Alloy Steel
b
NT =Notch-Tough Steel (CVN 15 @ 20 F)
b
QT =Quenched and Tempered Steel
c
Maximum (ultimate tensile strength)
d
Threaded rod material with properties meeting ASTM A325, A490, and A449 specifications may be obtained
with the use of an appropriate steel (such as ASTM A193, grade B7), quenched and tempered after fabrication.
e
Not less than 4 in.
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF STEEL CONSTRUCTION
8 - 90 BOLTS, WELDS, AND CONNECTED ELEMENTS