LCM17

Version:
Issue Date:
Review By Date:
Owned By:
Authorised By:

1.0
November 2006
June 2008
Engineering Manager D & P
Executive Manager D & P

LINE CONSTRUCTION MANUAL LCM17

ROCK ANCHOR FOUNDATION

CONSTRUCTION AND TESTING
Revision Table
Version No

Date of Revision

Details of Amendment

1.0

November 2006

Initial Release

The above table lists in summary the amendments which have been made with most recent issues of this standard.
The table is updated with each re-issue. The latest amendments within the documents are marked with a change
indicator (|) in the outer margin.

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Development and Projects Division, ElectraNet.
Please contact the indicated owner of the standard
with
any
inquiries.

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Adelaide,
South
Australia
5000
Ph (08) 8404 7966, Fx (08) 8404 7104

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
17.1SCOPE...........................................................................................................................................3
17.2STANDARDS................................................................................................................................3
17.3LENGTH, LOCATION AND ORIENTATION OF ANCHORS....................................................3
17.4DEFINITIONS...............................................................................................................................3
17.5EXPERIENCED CONTRACTORS...............................................................................................4
17.6CONTRACTORS METHOD STATEMENT.................................................................................4
17.7ANCHOR COMPONENTS...........................................................................................................5
17.7.1 ANCHOR BARS...........................................................................................................................5
17.7.2 FACE PLATES AND WASHERS.....................................................................................................5
17.7.3 NUTS..........................................................................................................................................5
17.7.4 CENTRALISERS...........................................................................................................................5
17.7.5 PROTECTIVE TREATMENT..........................................................................................................5
17.8ANCHOR DRILL HOLES.............................................................................................................5
17.9INSTALLATION OF ANCHORS..................................................................................................6
17.9.1 INSTALLATION............................................................................................................................6
17.10 GROUTING OF ANCHORS......................................................................................................6
17.10.1

GENERAL............................................................................................................................6

17.10.2

GROUT MATERIALS AND MIX DESIGN...............................................................................6

17.10.3

TESTING OF GROUT............................................................................................................7

17.10.4

GROUT MIXING..................................................................................................................7

17.10.5

GROUT EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURE................................................................................7

17.11 TESTING AND STRESSING OF ANCHORS...........................................................................8

17.11.1

PROVING AND ACCEPTANCE TESTS....................................................................................8

17.11.2

PROVING TEST PROCEDURE...............................................................................................8

17.11.3

ACCEPTANCE TEST PROCEDURE.........................................................................................9

17.11.4

TEST LIMITING VALUES.....................................................................................................9

17.12 COMPLETION REPORT.........................................................................................................10

17.1 SCOPE
Section specifies the requirements for the
supply, installation, testing, stressing and
grouting of anchors. The anchors are to be hot
dipped galvanised bars encased in full column
cement grout with sheathed free length, endthreaded with plates, washers and nuts.
Anchors shall be installed to the nominated
capacities at Type 1 gantry footings as shown
on the Drawings.

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17.2 STANDARDS
The

following Australian

Standards

are

referred to in abbreviated form e.g. AS 1012.

AS 1012

Methods of Testing Concrete

AS 1214
Hot-Dipped
Coatings on Threaded Fasteners

Galvanised

AS 1275
Fasteners

Metric Screw Threads for

AS 1302
Concrete

Steel Reinforcing Bars for

AS 4680

Hot-Dipped

Galvanised

Coatings on Ferrous Articles

AS 3678
Structural Steel - Hot-rolled
Plates, Floor Plates and Slabs
AS 3972

Portland

and

Blended

Cements
Unless otherwise stated, the referenced
standard shall be the issue current at the date
on which the Contractor received the tender.

17.3
LENGT
H, LOCATION AND
ORIENTATION OF
ANCHORS
The approximate numbers, lengths and
locations of the anchors will be as shown on
the Drawings. Prior to the commencement of
drilling, the Contractor shall provide access to
allow the Superintendent to closely inspect the
footing to check the suitability of the footing
type. Depending on the outcome of the
inspection, the type of footing may be varied
by the Superintendent from those shown on
the Drawings. Presentation of the foundation
for inspection by the Superintendent prior to
drilling shall constitute a HOLD POINT.

Bond Length - That length (m) towards the

bottom of an anchor within which provision is
made for the transfer of load to the
surrounding soil/rock.
Load - The measured load (in tension) acting
on the anchor, expressed in kN.
Design Working Load (TD) - The long term
load (kN), which the rock bolt is required to
sustain in service.
Design Lock-off Load (TO) - Equal to the
design working load (TD) plus an allowance
for loss of prestress (both immediate and
deferred) and is, in practice, the jacking force
which must be achieved before transfer to
ensure that the post tensioning load does not
fall below the design working load in the long
term.
Proof Load (TP) - The maximum load (kN)
to which a anchor is subjected to test that the
bar, grout and bond length is of adequate
capacity (Tp = 0.8 Tu).
Initial Load (TA) - The initial load (kN)
selecting for Proving, Acceptance and
Suitability tests (TA = 0.1 0.2TP).
UTS - The ultimate tensile strength of the
anchor as tested or provided by the
manufacturer, expressed in MPa.
Ultimate Load Capacity (TU) - The breaking
or ultimate load of the bar as tested or
specified by the manufacturer.

DEFINIT

Residual Load (TR) - The load (in kN)

Free Length - The length (m) of the anchor,

between the nut and the bond length, which
does not transfer any load to the surrounding
rock.

locking off (TR = TO loss of prestress).

17.4
IONS

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remaining in the anchor at any time after

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17.5 EXPERIENCED
CONTRACTORS
The work for installing anchors and grouting
shall be carried out by Contractors with
proven training and experience in this type
of
17.7.3
work. Contractors shall inspect the site and
assess it in reference to reports and the
drawings provided. The contract involves
placement of rock anchors as detailed in the
drawings.

hemispherical washer. Each plate shall have a

hemispherical washer fitted so that the nut will
bear evenly on the plate even if the bolt is not
normal to the plane of the plate.

Nuts
The nut and thread shall be capable of holding
a tension force of at least twice the Design
Working Load specified, or equal to the
ultimate capacity of the bar specified. Nuts
shall comply with the requirements of AS
1275.

Any delays in the rock anchors may delay

consequential works. The Contractor shall be
deemed to have made due allowance for the
17.7.4
Centralisers
need to make good any loss of time and to be
aware of the significance of completion dates
Centralisers shall be used to ensure that the bar
for the work.
remains centrally located within the drilled
hole during grouting. Centralisers shall be
17.6
CONTR
firmly fixed to the bar and shall be of a design,
which will not impair the free flow of the
ACTORS METHOD
grout. Centralisers shall be manufactured
STATEMENT
from material, which will not corrode or have
deleterious effects on either the bar or grout.
The Contractor shall submit a method
statement with his tender information
regarding the method of installation of anchors
17.7.5
Protective
to be used. HOLD POINT

Treatment

17.7
ANCHO
R COMPONENTS
17.7.1

Anchor Bars
Anchor bars shall be deformed steel
reinforcing bars. The bars shall be threaded at
one end and of the diameters shown in the
Drawings. Alternatively, anchor bars shall
have a 300 mm long factory bent cog. All bars
shall be hot dipped galvanised. Cogs shall be
bent prior to galvanising.
The bars for anchors shall have a minimum
ultimate capacity of 230 kN. Bars may be
joined using mechanical couplings of strength
equal to the bars.

17.7.2

All anchors shall have the bar (including the

threaded length), nuts, hemispherical washers
and face plates hot-dip galvanised in
conformance to the requirements of AS 1214
and AS 4680.

Face
Washers

Plates

and

The face plates shall be of Grade 250 steel to

AS 3678 requirements. The face plates shall
be square, minimum 150x150 mm and 10 mm
in thickness and suitable for use with a
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17.8
ANCHO
R DRILL HOLES
Holes for the anchors shall be drilled as at
the locations shown on the Drawings. The
depth and diameter shall be drilled to suit the
specified bolt length, proposed grouting
procedure

and

manufacturers

in

accordance

recommendations,

with
where

applicable.
Holes may be drilled by either pneumatic
hammer drills or rotary drill as approved by
the Superintendent. Holes shall be clean, true
to size and not deviate from the initial line of
the bore by more than 50 mm per each 1 m
depth of hole.
In ground likely to collapse, the sides of the
drill hole shall be supported by suitable lining

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tubes until supported by the anchor system

17.9.1
itself.
The depth of each hole, from the collar to the
bottom of the hole, shall be as specified for the
anchor length as shown on the Drawings plus
an extra length of 150 mm shall be drilled
beyond the anchor bar length to ensure full
encapsulation of the anchor bar.
During drilling continuous records of
penetration rates shall be kept by the
Contractor. Any sudden advance in the drill or
sudden increase in penetration rate shall be
particularly noted, together with the depth at
which these variations occur. The presence of
seams in the foundation rock which allow a
sudden advance of the drill bit of 50 mm or
more shall be recorded. Drilling records that
contain a full description of all materials
encountered during drilling shall be made
available to the Engineer/Superintendent at the
completion of each day's work.

Installation
Anchor bars shall be inserted into the hole
before injection of grout. The Contractor shall
demonstrate to the satisfaction of the
Superintendent that all the anchors are fully
encapsulated in a homogeneous grout mass
and that the bar is centrally located in the hole,
inserted to the correct depth.
Each cleaned drill hole shall be kept sealed
until the anchor bar is ready to be installed.
Anchor bars shall be assembled outside the
borehole. Grout injection tubes, if used, shall
be securely fixed to the bar. The anchor bar
shall then be installed into the hole.
Centralisers shall be used on all anchors.
Immediately prior to installing the anchor bar,
the hole shall be probed to confirm that it is
unobstructed for the full depth. Obstructions
shall be removed (or redrilled). Anchor length
shall not be reduced without the approval of
the Superintendent. HOLD POINT

Drill holes shall be cleaned of all deleterious

material on completion of drilling and the
17.10
GROUTI
opening sealed to prevent the entry of foreign
matter. Cleaning by high pressure water jet
NG OF ANCHORS
and flushing with water, or water and air,
using approved techniques, shall be carried out
General
to ensure the removal of all drill cuttings17.10.1
and
clay smear from the walls and bottom of the
The Contractor shall give the Superintendent
drill holes.
at least one working days notice of his
All drill holes are to be observed, inspected
and approved by the Superintendents
geotechnical engineer or engineering geologist
prior to the placement of anchor bars or grout.
This requires at least 3 days prior notice of
drilling works. HOLD POINT

17.9
INSTAL
LATION OF
ANCHORS
The anchor shall be installed and grouted

intention to commence grouting.

All grouting operations shall be carried out
under the direction of a skilled supervisor
experienced in this type of work.
All anchors shall be full column cement
grouted. The cement grout can be injected
into the borehole by pumping. Alternatively,
cement cartridges may be used.
The
Contractor shall provide full details and
prepare a method statement if cartridges are to
be used.

within 1 day after completion of the drill hole.

17.10.2
Grout
Materials
Holes which, in the opinion of the
and Mix Design
Superintendent, have been allowed to slake or
collapse due to the Contractors negligence or
Cement used for grouting purposes shall be
inexperience shall be redrilled at the
Type GP Portland cement complying with
Contractors expense. Holes which, in the
AS 3972. Only fresh cement, free from
opinion of the Superintendent, collapse in
lumps, shall be used. Cement shall be stored
spite of all reasonable efforts having been
in a dry weather-proof area.
made to maintain them shall be redrilled and
paid for at schedule rates.
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The grout mix shall achieve a minimum

unconfined compressive strength of 32 MPa at
7 days.
Bleeding shall not exceed 2% of the volume at
90 minutes after mixing when measured at
20C in a covered cylinder of 100 mm internal
diameter and with a grout depth of 300 mm.
Also, bleeding shall not exceed 4% of the
volume at any time. In addition, the separated
water must be reabsorbed within 24 hours.
To achieve non-shrink characteristics of grout,
suitable admixtures in an amount not
exceeding 0.005 % by weight of cement shall
be blended with the cement, if required.
Admixtures shall comply with AS1478.
Admixtures used shall not be deleterious to
any anchor components.
The specific gravity and the bleed
characteristics of the nominated grout mix
shall be established so that these values may
be used to monitor the production process.17.10.5
The pumped grout shall comprise potable
water and cement in a ratio (by weight) of not
more than 0.45. Water shall not contain more
that 500mg/litre of chloride ions. Water
temperatures measured at the mixer shall not
be less that 5C nor more than 27C.
Water used shall be clean and free from oil,
acid, alkali or organic matter and from any
ingredients harmful to steel or cement grout.

17.10.3

Testing of Grout
A characteristic grout strength of 32MPa at 7
days is required. Representative test cylinders
shall be prepared and cured in accordance with
AS 1012.8 and tested in accordance with AS
1012.9 at the rate of 2 cylinders per grout
batch. One of the cylinders from each batch
shall be tested after 7 days. Stressing of
anchors may commence if the 7 day strength is
greater than 32 MPa. If 32 MPa (after 7 days )
strength of both test cylinders is not achieved,
the anchors may be rejected at the discretion
of the Superintendent and replacements
installed at the Contractor's cost.

17.10.4

Grout Mixing
The grout shall be mixed in a mechanical
mixer capable of imparting a high shear to the
grout components so that a colloidal grout of

Version: 1.0

uniform consistency is produced in a mixing

time of less than 5 minutes.
The grout mixing process shall utilise a
recirculating system where the grout is
continuously discharged and recharged into
the mixing unit during the mixing period.
After the mixing the grout shall be kept
continuously agitated.
The grout shall be passed through a nominal
1.2 mm sieve prior to injection. The grout
shall be used as soon as possible after mixing
and in any case within 30 minutes of adding
cement unless otherwise agreed by the
Superintendent.
Batching into mixers shall be carried out by
measuring the water by volume and using
whole bags of cement. Any additives shall be
pre-measured into individual doses per batch.

Grout
and Procedure

Equipment

The pump used for grout injection shall be of

the positive displacement type, i.e., it shall be
actuated by a piston or screw. Grout pumps
shall be capable of pumping the grout at the
appropriate rates.
Grouting shall be carried out by use of supply
lines directly connecting the pumps to the
down-hole grout tubes. The grout tubes shall
be of sufficient internal diameter to ensure that
blockages will not occur during grouting
operations. The tubes shall also be sufficiently
robust to ensure that they are not damaged
during handling.
Grouting shall proceed by injection through
the feeder tubes to the bottom of the hole and
anchor.
The grouting pressure adopted shall be the
minimum consistent with undertaking the
operation. Grouting shall proceed at a slow,
steady rate and continue until injected grout of
the same composition and consistency as that
in the mixer emerges from the outlet.
The quantity of grout available for immediate
use shall be such as to enable the primary
grouting of a complete anchor to be carried out
without interruption.

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Prior to grouting, the grout tubes shall be

requirements and assessment shall be as
checked individually by blowing through them
specified below.
to ensure that they have not been compressed
or blocked.
17.11.2
Proving
Test

17.11
TESTIN
G AND STRESSING
OF ANCHORS
Anchors shall not be stressed or tested

Procedure
Install a test anchor using the same technique
as for the production anchors and as per
drawings.

The reaction pad and bearing pad for

the jack must be outside the cone of
resistance for the test anchor;

minimum compressive strength of the grout in

the hole has reached 32MPa.

Testing and stressing operations shall be
performed only by personnel with proven
training and experience in this type of work.

Load cell, jack, pressure gauges and

dial gauges must have current
calibration certificates from NATA
registered lab;

Instruments to be accurate and

readable to better than +/- 2% of the
proof load and the elastic extension
under proof load;

Measure extension of anchor rod with

reference to a datum that is unaffected
by the load test;

Initial load TA;

Cyclic loading in 7 to 10 equal steps

to the proof load Tp;

Hold the load for 5 minutes at each

step and measure the elongation of the
rod maintaining load, or alternatively
measure the loss of load while
maintaining the elongation of the rod.
Limiting values in Section 1.11.4;

Unload to the initial load TA between

each step and measure the residual
elongation;

At completion of the last stage, load to

proof load TP and unload in 4 steps to
a final load of 0.3Tp;

Increase load in three equal steps to

lock-off load To;

Measure elongation at each of the

steps;

Measure
residual
load
after
immediately lock-off by a lift-off test;

In addition, the zero friction line and

the calculated residual load (TR)

until the grout surrounding the anchor has

attained an age of seven days and the

Anchor extensions shall be measured from a

datum point unaffected by stressing operations
in order to exclude the effects of relative
movement between anchor components, both
during jacking and after lock-off. Where loads
are to be held constant for nominated periods,
extensions shall be recorded at the beginning
and end of those periods.
No anchor shall be stressed until full
conformance records for the grouted anchor
have been made available to the
Superintendent. HOLD POINT
The Contractor shall, for each anchor, give the
Superintendent at least two days notice of its
intention to stress or test.

17.11.1

Proving
Acceptance Tests

and

Where proving and acceptance test anchors are

specified, they shall be installed and stressed
prior to both the manufacture and drilling of
the remaining anchors represented by the test
anchors. HOLD POINT
The test anchors shall confirm that the lengths
and locations of the bond lengths shown on the
Drawings will, in conjunction with the
specified requirements, produce rock anchors
which conform to the specified performance
requirements.
The test anchors shall be manufactured,
installed and stressed in accordance with this
Specification. The stressing procedures
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immediately locking off shall be
determined;

5min duration max 2% of calculated

elastic extension or 2% loss of proof load TP.

After 48 hours conduct another lift-off

test and measure residual load (TR).

If this fails, then:

17.11.3
Acceptance
Test Procedure
Install a test anchor using the same technique
as for the production anchors and as per
drawings.

The reaction pad and bearing pad for

the jack must be outside the cone of
resistance for the test anchor;

Load cell, jack, pressure gauges and

dial gauges must have current
calibration certificates from NATA
registered lab;

Instruments to be accurate and

readable to better than +/- 2% of the
proof load and the elastic extension
under proof load;

Measure extension of anchor rod with

reference to a datum that is unaffected
by the load test;

Initial load TA;

Load to the proof load Tp;

Hold the load for 5 minutes and

measure the elongation of the rod
maintaining load, or alternatively
measure the loss of load while
maintaining the elongation of the rod.
Limiting values in Section 1.11.4;

Unload to the initial load TA and

measure the residual elongation;

Increase load to lock-off load To;

Measure
residual
load
after
immediately lock-off by a lift-off test;

After 48 hours conduct another lift-off

test and measure residual load (TR).

15min duration max 1% of calculated

extension or 1% loss of proof load TP.
If this fails, then:
50min duration - max 1% of calculated
extension or 1% loss of proof load TP.
The residual load (TR) in the initial lift off test
shall not be less than 1.1TD or greater than
1.15TD.
Loss of residual load after 48 hours shall not
exceed 4% of initial residual load. If this fails
the test may be repeated immediately for
another 48 hours after which the loss in
residual load to be no greater than 6% of the
initial residual load. If this fails, then after a
final further 48 hours the loss of residual load
is to be no greater than 7% of the initial
residual load.
The Contractor shall provide field results of
the tests at the end of each day to the
Superintendent.
The construction of the test anchors and the
proof/acceptance load testing are to be carried
out in the presence of an experienced
geotechnical engineer or engineering geologist
approved by the Superintendent.

17.12
COMPL
ETION REPORT
The Contractor shall provide a report to the
Superintendent at the completion of the gantry
foundation works compiling as-built anchor
installation configurations, proving and
acceptance
load
test
methodologies,
procedures, equipment, certificates and results.
The format of the report shall be approved by
the Superintendent prior to submission.

17.11.4
Test
Limiting Values
When load is held at test load the following
limiting values apply:

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