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Investigation of Bursting Forces in Anchorage Zones: Compression-Dispersion

Models and Unified Design Equation

Article  in  Journal of Bridge Engineering · November 2011

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000187

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 Investigation of Bursting Forces in
Anchorage Zones: Compression-Dispersion
Models and Unified Design Equation
Zhi-Qi He1 and Zhao Liu2

Abstract: Anchorage zones of posttensioned structures are prone to splitting cracks, necessitating rational reinforcement design methods
for anticracking in such regions. This paper presents a generalized method to calculate bursting forces in posttensioned anchorage zones.
Compression-dispersion models are individually formulated for anchorage zones with single concentric, eccentric, and inclined tendons, and
a unified equation for calculating bursting forces is developed accordingly. In these models, the load paths of the anchor force are math-
ematically visualized by infinite isostatic lines with their own geometric and physical boundary conditions. The models are demonstrated to
be capable of reflecting the nature of anchorage zones with regard to the distribution of bursting stresses. Finite-element evaluation and
experimental verification show that the proposed equation provides accurate and safe predictions for different loading conditions, while
the AASHTO equation is found to be overly conservative in most cases. For this reason, a suggested revision to the AASHTO-LRFD Bridge
Design Specifications is presented. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000187. © 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
CE Database subject headings: Anchorages; Splitting; Cracking; Tension structures; Bridges; Tendons.
Author keywords: Anchorage zones; Bursting forces; Compression-dispersion models; Strut-and-tie models.

Introduction quantitative CDM, he sketched the basic configuration of the

In posttensioned anchorage zones, cracks along the tendon path can
be found time and again (Fig. 1). Practically, this type of cracking
can be recognized as splitting cracking, which is generated because
of transverse tensile stresses referred to as bursting stresses result-
ing from the dispersion of a concentrated prestressing force (Breen
et al. 1991). The resultant bursting stresses along the tendon path
are known as the bursting force, which should be resisted by prop-
erly arranged reinforcement.
To date, several measurements have been undertaken to study
the mechanism of the anchorage zone, such as the theory of elas-
ticity, photoelasticity test, linear and nonlinear finite-element analy-
ses (FEAs), strut-and-tie method (STM), and experimental studies.
Comprehensive reviews of these studies have been summarized by
some researchers (e.g., Stone 1980; Breen et al. 1991; Rogowsky
and Marti 1996; Songwut 2004). It can be observed that visualized
load paths or stress trajectories obtained from the FEA were often
used to describe the load transfer in the anchorage zone. As early as
the 1940s, in addition to studying the anchorage zones using two-
dimensional elastic theory, Guyon (1953) also conceived the idea
of using the compression-dispersion model (CDM) to describe the
stress-dispersion process. Although Guyon did not figure out a
1
Ph.D. Candidate, Key Laboratory of Concrete and Prestressed
Concrete Structures of Ministry of Education, College of Civil Engineering,
Southeast Univ., 2 Sipailou, Nanjing 210096, China (corresponding
author). E-mail: hezhiqicleve@yahoo.com.cn
2
Professor, Key Laboratory of Concrete and Prestressed Concrete Struc-
tures of Ministry of Education, College of Civil Engineering, Southeast
Univ., 2 Sipailou, Nanjing 210096, China. E-mail: mr.liuzhao@seu.edu.cn
Note. This manuscript was submitted on April 7, 2010; approved on
September 27, 2010; published online on October 5, 2010. Discussion per-
iod open until April 1, 2012; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Bridge Engineering,
Vol. 16, No. 6, November 1, 2011. ©ASCE, ISSN 1084-0702/2011/6-820–
827/$25.00.
model. Recently, Sahoo et al. (2009) presented a mathematical de-
scription of this model for concentric anchorage zones and derived
an equation for estimating the bursting force. Nevertheless, as veri-
fied in this paper, because of some questionable assumptions on
the boundary conditions, the bursting stress distribution from the
model of Sahoo et al. showed substantial deviation compared to
the result of the linear elastic FEA.
In the current AASHTO-LRFD Bridge Design Specifications
(AASHTO 2007), the equation for calculating the bursting force
in the anchorage zone can be found in Article 5.10.9.6.3, which is
based on the results of linear elastic stress analyses conducted by
Burdet (1990). However, imperfections still remain: (1) the equa-
tion does not take into account the influence of eccentric loads,
(2) the equation lacks an adequate theoretical basis to consider
the tendon inclination, and (3) the equation is proven to be overly
conservative in most cases, which may lead to problems with steel
congestion during the casting process.
In this paper, mathematical expressions for the compression-
dispersion field in posttensioned anchorage zones with concentric,
eccentric, and inclined tendons are established. A unified equation
for calculating the bursting forces is proposed toward a more rea-
sonable solution to the design of posttensioned anchorage zones.
CDM for Concentric Anchorage Zones
Equations of Isostatic Lines of Compression
Fig. 2 shows the pattern of the force distribution in a concentric
anchorage zone as predicted by an elastic FEA. The dispersion
of compression in the anchorage zone was described in detail
by Guyon (1953). Guyon used isostatic lines of compression
(ILCs) to visualize the flow of forces in posttensioned anchorage
zones. These infinite ILCs constituted a CDM representing the
dispersion of the anchor load. The CDM can also be defined as

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 Fig. 1. Splitting cracking of anchorage zones in practice: (a) single tendon anchorage, (b) multiple-tendon anchorage

B C

P P x
σ

h
a

y0
Typical ILC

yi
A D
y
(a) (b) (a) (b)

Fig. 3. Description of a typical isostatic line: (a) concrete body, (b) nor-
mal stress distribution on section CD

Assumption 3: the transverse stresses in section CD must vanish.

(c)
Section CD is the interface between the stress-disturbed zone
Fig. 2. Stress distributions in concentric anchorage zone: (a) principal (D-region) and the uniformly distributed stress zone (B-region),
stress trajectories, (b) normal stress distribution, and (c) transverse such that the transverse stresses in this section are equal to zero
stress distribution (Schlaich et al. 1987). Moreover, the transverse stresses are propor-
tional to the curvature of the ILCs. For this reason,

d2 y
j ¼0 ð1c Þ
the mathematical model of principal compressive-stress trajectories dx2 x¼h
as plotted in Fig. 2.
According to Saint-Venant’s principle, the stress distribution in Using the previous five boundary conditions, a fourth-order poly-
the anchorage zone is disturbed within a distance approximately nomial equation can be obtained for any ILC:

  
equal to the member depth. Therefore, plane h × h can be defined ðh
aÞx2 3 2 8 a
as the dispersion zone of the anchor load. Fig. 3 shows the shape of y ¼ yi x
xþ6 þ ð2Þ
h3 h2 h h
an ILC. In fact, there are infinite ILCs throughout the anchorage
zone. To describe the evenly bottleneck-shaped dispersion process, in which h = height of anchorage zone; a = width of bearing plate;
three assumptions on geometric and physical boundary conditions and yi = vertical coordinate of any ILC at section CD. When yi
of the ILCs are given as follows. varies between [
h=2, h=2], Eq. (2) expresses the shapes of all
Assumption 1: the ILCs are uniformly distributed under the an- ILCs. Fig. 4 shows the CDM with nine symmetrical and equidistant
chor plate in section AB and have a distribution in section CD ac- ILCs, although there are numerous ILCs actually forming stepl-
cording to the normal stress pattern. The normal stresses at section ess bands.
CD are uniform for the concentric anchorage zone, and thus the
ILCs are uniformly distributed in both sections CD and AB. For Characteristics of the CDM
an ILC with a vertical coordinate of yi at section CD, the vertical
On the basis of Eq. (2), the distribution of transverse stresses along
coordinate at section AB can be determine using geometric simi-
the tendon’s path, σT ðxÞ, can be derived as
larity, which leads to
Z h=2 2
yjx¼h ¼ yi ; yjx¼0 ¼ y0 ¼ yi · a=h ð1a Þ d y 3ðh
aÞP 2
σT ðxÞ ¼ σ dy ¼

2 CD i
ð3x
4hx þ h2 Þ ð3Þ
0 dx 2h4 t
Assumption 2: the ILCs must be parallel to the applied load at
sections AB and CD, that is, in which σCD = normal stresses in section CD, σCD ¼ P=ðhtÞ;
P = applied anchor load; and t = thickness of the end zone.
dy dy As seen from Eq. (3), the proposed idealized CDM for a con-
j ¼ 0; j ¼0 ð1b Þ
dx x¼0 dx x¼h centric anchorage zone features (1) at x ¼ h=3, σT ¼ 0, and thus,

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 h/2 0.27h 0.23h h/3 h/3 h/3
P/9 P/9
B C B C
P/9 P/9
T b,1
P/9 P/9

P/9 P/9
P P
h P/9 P/9

P/9 P/9

P/9 P/9
T b,1
P/9 P/9
A D A D
P/9 P/9
Tension Tension
Lateral Stresses

Lateral Stresses
x x

Compression Compression

(a) (b)

Fig. 4. CDMs for concentric anchorage zone: (a) proposed by Sahoo et al. (2009), (b) by this paper

this section is the interface of compressive and tensile transverse
stresses; (2) at x ¼ 2h=3, the tensile transverse stress (bursting
stress) is the greatest in magnitude, that is, σT;max ¼ ðh
aÞP=
ð2h2 tÞ; (3) at x ¼ 0, that is, at the loaded face, the transverse com-
pressive stress reaches the maximum value, which is three times the
magnitude of the maximum tensile stress previously mentioned;
and (4) in particular, when the bearing plate covers the entire height
of the end zone (that is, a ¼ h), all the ILCs are straight and there
are no transverse stresses.
The CDMs proposed by Sahoo et al. (2009) and this paper are
illustrated in Figs. 4(a) and 4(b), respectively. In view of the dis-
tribution of transverse stresses, the latter has a better agreement
with the results of FEA (see Fig. 2). In the model of Sahoo et al.
(2009), the transverse compressive stress below the anchor plate is
equal to zero, and the transverse compression zone has an area
equal to that of the transverse tension zone. However, a previous
study indicated that the magnitude of the compressive stresses was
highest immediately ahead of the anchor, and decreased rapidly as
the compression stresses spread out into the anchorage (Breen et al.
1991). As also pointed out by Windisch (2010), the theoretical
model proposed by Sahoo et al. is questionable. In this paper’s
model, the maximum tensile transverse stress occurs in the middle
third of the stress distribution near section CD, which just fits in
with the speculation of Brown and Bayrak (2006).
CDM for Eccentric Anchorage Zones
In most cases, the prestressing force is applied eccentrically in the
anchorage zone. Eccentric anchorage zones can be divided into two
groups: eccentric inside and outside the section kern (for a rectan-
gular section, the kern is located at a distance of 0:167h from the
center of the girder section). If the anchor load acts within the sec-
tion kern, the behavior of the anchorage is similar to that of a con-
centric configuration. Otherwise, very different stress patterns
result (Breen et al. 1991). Previous studies proved that the bursting
force in an eccentric anchorage zone could be determined using
Guyon’s symmetrical prism approach (Burdet 1990), and this
concept was adopted in the Comité Euro-International du Béton,
Fédération International de la Précontrainte (CEB-FIP), recommen-
dation (1999). The symmetrical prism (the square area AEFD in
Fig. 5) states that the transverse dimension of the prism is equal
to twice the smallest distance from the centerline of the tendon
to the closest edge of the anchorage zone. Therefore, it can be as-
sumed that the dispersion of the anchor load is completed at a dis-
tance of h
2e to the anchor plate. As mentioned in assumption 1,
the ILCs in section CD are assumed to be distributed according to
the normal stress pattern shown in Fig. 5. For simplicity, the ILCs
h

Bursting Forces B C

By integrating the transverse tensile stresses along the tendon E T b,2 F

path, the resultant transverse force below the tendon axis can be
obtained as σ
h

x
e

Z  
a
y0

h 2 a
T b;1 ¼ σT tdx ¼ P 1
ð4Þ
yi

9 h T b,2
h=3
A D

in which T b;1 = bursting force in concentric anchorage zone. y h-2e

It can be proved that the transverse forces below and above the (a) (b)
tendon axis constitute a pair of forces with equal magnitude acting
Fig. 5. CDM for eccentric anchorage zone: (a) concrete body, (b) nor-
in opposite directions, which is capable of fulfilling the equilibrium
mal stress distribution on section CD
condition.

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can be assumed to be uniformly distributed on each side of the e/h=0 e/h=0.1 e/h=0.2
e/h=0.3 e/h=0.4
tendon axis.
On the basis of the previous assumptions, the following five 1

Transverse stress, σ T / σ0
boundary conditions can be given for ILCs in an eccentric anchor-
age zone: 0

yjx¼h
2e ¼ yi ; yjx¼0 ¼ y0 ¼ yi · a=ðh
2eÞ ð5a Þ -1 P o x

h
dy dy -2 σ0=P/ht
j ¼ 0; j ¼0 ð5b Þ
dx x¼0 dx x¼h
2e
-3
d2 y 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
j ¼0 ð5c Þ Relative distance to the anchor, x / h
dx2 x¼h
2e
Similarly, a fourth-order polynomial equation can be obtained from Fig. 6. Transverse stresses along the tendon axis for various
these five boundary conditions. It can be proved that the equations eccentricities
of ILCs in eccentric anchorage zones are attainable by replacing h
in Eq. (2) with h
2e. The inclined prestress force will also increase the tensile stress
Additionally, the normal stresses in section CD can be ex- to the normal direction of the tendon (Oh et al. 1997). In common
pressed as practice, the tendon inclination is less than 20°, and the maximum
P Peðyi þ eÞ bursting stresses appear to still be perpendicular to the tendon axis
σCD ¼ þ ð6Þ (Burdet 1990). For rectangular anchorage zones subjected to an in-
A I
clined concentric load, the normal and shear-stress diagrams at the
in which A = area of cross section; and I = moment of inertia of end of the body are illustrated in Fig. 7, and can be expressed as
cross section. For a rectangular section, A = ht and I = h3 t=12.  
1 eyi
Therefore, the distribution of transverse stresses along the ten- σCD ¼ P cos þ ð10a Þ
don axis can be derived as A I
Z h=2
e 2 QS 3P tan αðh2
4y2i Þ
d y τ CD ¼ ¼ ð10b Þ
σT ðxÞ ¼ σCD dyi It 2h3 t
0 dx2
3ðh þ 2eÞ2 ðh
2e
aÞP 2 in which α = tendon inclination; Q = shear force because of the
¼
½3x
4ðh
2eÞx inclination of the tendon; and S = statical moment about the neu-
2h3 ðh
2eÞ3 t
tral axis of the area above the point yi .
þ ðh
2eÞ2  ð7Þ As shown in Fig. 7, the ILCs must be parallel to the applied load
at section AB, uniformly distributed, and parallel to the direction of
From Eq. (7), the maximum bursting stress occurs at the location the principal compressive stresses at section CD. Curvatures of the
with a distance of 2ðh
2eÞ=3 from the anchor plate, which can be ILCs are zero at section CD. These result in five boundary condi-
given as tions for the ILCs below the inclined tendon axis in concentric
anchorage zones:
ðh þ 2eÞ2 ðh
2e
aÞ
σT;max ¼ p ð8Þ aðyi
h tan αÞ
2h3 ðh
2eÞt yjx¼h ¼ yi ; yjx¼0 ¼ y0 ¼ ð11a Þ
hð1
2 tan αÞ
Finally, the bursting force in the eccentric anchorage zone, T b;2 , can
be given as dy dy τ
Z 2ða
eÞ
 j ¼ tan α; j ¼ CD ð11b Þ
2 a dx x¼0 dx x¼h σCD
T b;2 ¼ σT tdx ¼ Pð1 þ γÞ2 ð1
γÞ
ð9Þ
2ða
eÞ=3 9 h d2 y
j ¼0 ð11c Þ
in which γ = tendon eccentricity ratio; γ = 2e=h; and 0 ≤ γ < 1. dx2 x¼h
In particular, when γ ¼ 0, Eq. (9) reduces to Eq. (4) for the case
of concentric anchorage zones. h
In accordance with Eq. (7), Fig. 6 shows the distribution of
C
transverse stresses along the tendon axis for various eccentricities B
and a relative plate size a=h ¼ 0:1. It can be seen that in most cases, T b,3
the magnitude of the peak tensile bursting stress increases with
α

an increasing tendon eccentricity. However, because of the reduc- P x

σ τ
h

y0

tion of the affected scope, the resultant bursting force actually de-
yi

creases, as can be observed from Eq. (9). These observations are

consistent with the results of linear elastic-stress analyses con- T b,3
A
ducted by Burdet (1990). D
y
(a) (b) (c)
CDM for Anchorage Zones with Inclined Tendons Fig. 7. CDM for anchorage zone with inclined tendon: (a) concrete
body, (b) normal stress distribution on section CD, and (c) shear stress
In the case of an inclined load, the vertical component of the
distribution on section CD
load will also disturb the flow of forces in the anchorage zone.

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 0.5σ0
Similarly, equations for the ILCs and the distribution of transverse

Peak bursting stress, σT,max

stresses along the tendon axis can be obtained (these equations are 0.4σ0 P

h
a
not given herein because of their complex forms). By integrating
the transverse tensile stresses along the tendon path, the bursting 0.3σ0
force in the concentric anchorage zone with inclined tendon, T b;3 , σ0=P/ht
0.2σ0
can be derived as
Guyon
  0.1σ0
a Eq. (15)
T b;3 ≈ T b;1 þ 0:5 sin α 1
ð12Þ 0
h 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
Bearing plate ratio, a /h
in which T b;1 takes the same form as Eq. (4). In particular, when
α ¼ 0, Eq. (12) reduces to Eq. (4) for the case of concentric anchor- Fig. 8. Peak bursting stresses in concentric anchorage zones
age zones.

Eq. (15) is plotted in Fig. 8 to make a comparison with Guyon’s

Unified Design Method for Bursting Reinforcement
In the previous sections, the bursting forces in anchorage zones
with concentric, eccentric, and inclined concentric loads have been
individually investigated. Eq. (9) expresses the bursting force in the
concentric anchorage zone and the influence of tendon eccentricity,
and the term 0:5P sin αð1
a=hÞ in Eq. (12) represents the influ-
ence of tendon inclination. Therefore, a unified design equation for
calculating bursting forces in rectangle anchorage zones with dif-
ferent load cases can be obtained as

  
a a
T burst ¼ 0:22Pu ð1 þ γÞ2 ð1
γÞ
þ 0:5Pu j sin αj 1

h h
ð13Þ
in which Pu = factored tendon force. As specified in Article 3.4.3
(AASHTO 2007), the design force for posttensioning anchorage
zones shall be taken as 1.2 times the maximum jacking force. This
equation is unified. If α ¼ 0, it reduces to Eq. (9) for eccentric
anchorage zones. Further, if γ ¼ 0, it reduces to Eq. (4) for con-
centric anchorage zones. Moreover, particularly when the bearing
plate covers the entire height of the anchorage zone (i.e., a ¼ h), no
bursting stresses are generated.
After obtaining the bursting force, the required amount of
bursting reinforcement As can be determined according to the
AASHTO-LRFD specification,
method. It can be seen that these two methods provide very close
predictions of the peak bursting stresses.
First Cracking Loads
In this section, the peak bursting stress is used to estimate the first
cracking load in previous test specimens. Twelve rectangular
specimens tested at the University of Texas at Austin are selected
to verify the theoretical methods. In the series of specimens B1–B8
tested by Sanders and Breen (1997), the relative plate size (a=h)
was held constant at 0.41, and local zone reinforcement in the form
of a spiral was provided to prevent any local-zone failure (see Fig. 9
for details). In the testing, the first cracking loads were determined
by a combination of observation of the changes in strain readings
on the bursting reinforcement and visual observations of the cracks
on the concrete surface (Sanders 1990). The series of tests by Stone
(1980) included a total of 10 concentric anchorage specimens. The
major objective of this experimental investigation was to study the
primary variables affecting the formation of the tendon-path crack.
Four of these specimens (M1-2, M2-2, M3-2, and MR2A) with
complete information are listed in Table 1.
According to Eq. (15), the first cracking load in the concentric
anchorage zone, Pcr , might be predicted as
2ht
Pcr ¼ f ð16Þ
1
a=h t

T burst ≤ 0:75f y As ð14Þ in which f t = splitting tensile strength of concrete, which can be
determined from its compressive strength (Oluokun 1991) as
in which f y = specified yield strength of reinforcing bars.
f t ¼ 0:214ðf 0c Þ0:69 ð17Þ

Verification of the Proposed Method
Peak Bursting Stresses
A classic solution on the basis of the theory of elasticity presented
by Guyon (1953) is still widely used today. Guyon solved the prob-
lem by using Fourier series, but also proposed simplified ap-
proaches and provided design aids for the determination of the
stresses and forces acting in the anchorage zone. Guyon determined
the bursting stress distribution ahead of a concentric end anchor for
different ratios of plate-width-to-member-width. Fig. 8 is a sum-
As presented in Table 1, the comparisons show acceptable agree-
ment between the experimental and predicted values of the first
cracking loads (with a mean Pcr; exp =Pcr; pred value of 1.09 and
a standard deviation of 16%). Note that the detrimental effect of
compressive stresses acting perpendicular to the tensile stresses
pointed out by Stone (1980) was not taken into account in this
investigation.
165.1
406.4
165.1

mary of peak bursting-stress values from graphs devised by Guyon P

(1953), indicating that the peak stress decreases with increasing
a=h. As mentioned previously, an explicit equation for the peak 228.6
#4 spiral stirrups
bursting stress in the concentric anchorage zone was derived as
Elevation Cross-section
ð1
a=hÞ P
σT;max ¼ · ð15Þ Fig. 9. Details of specimens B1–B8 (dimensions in millimeters)
2 ht

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Table 1. Comparisons between Predicted and Experimental First Cracking Loads
Specimen a (mm) h (mm) t (mm) f 0c (MPa) f t (MPa) f cr ; pred (kN) f cr ; exp (kN) Predicted/Expected
B1 165.1 406.4 228.6 37.1 2.59 810.5 888.9 0.91
B2 165.1 406.4 228.6 37.1 2.59 810.5 826.7 0.98
B3 165.1 406.4 228.6 37.1 2.59 810.5 964.4 0.84
B4 165.1 406.4 228.6 37.1 2.59 810.5 888.9 0.91
B5 165.1 406.4 228.6 37.1 2.59 810.5 755.6 1.07
B6 165.1 406.4 228.6 37.1 2.59 810.5 760.0 1.07
B7 165.1 406.4 228.6 36.7 2.57 804.3 755.6 1.06
B8 165.1 406.4 228.6 36.7 2.57 804.3 693.3 1.16
M1-2 254.0 25.4 101.6 29.3 2.20 191.3 252.5 1.32
M2-2 254.0 25.4 76.2 29.3 2.20 151.2 189.3 1.25
M3-2 254.0 25.4 50.8 29.3 2.20 106.8 126.2 1.18
MR2A 254.0 34.9 114.3 23.2 1.87 195.7 252.0 1.29
Mean 1.09
standard deviation 0.16

Bursting Forces Tburst

Table 2 shows a comparison between different methods for the
calculation of bursting forces, including the AASHTO (2007)
Tendon axis
equation shown in Eq. (18), the CEB-FIP (1999) equation, the
strut-and-tie model of Burdet (1990), and the proposed Eq. (13).
The CEB-FIP (1999) equation can be expressed as T burst ¼ 0:25Pu
½1
a=ðh
2eÞ, which is the same as the approximate design

a
formula proposed by Guyon (1953). From Table 2, it can be seen
h
that the proposed equation is able to account for all important fac-
tors and has an explicit form.
To further verify the accuracy of the proposed method, linear
elastic FEA is carried out in the following. Note that the linear elas-
tic FEA can only reflect the behavior of anchorage zones prior to
1.5h
cracking and the influence of the initial microcracks cannot be taken
into account. The finite-element program ANSYS (Release 10.0)
is used as the tool to investigate the behavior of anchorage zones. Fig. 10. Finite-element model for anchorage zone (30 × 20 elements)
The two-dimensional FE modeling as shown in Fig. 10 is adopted,
which has been proven to be appropriate because of its simplicity
(Burdet 1990). The steel bars and prestressing tendons are not e=0 e=0.1h e=0.2h e=0.3h e=0.4h
modeled because of their insignificance in the elastic analysis. 0.20
Four-node plane-stress elements are selected for concrete, the
modulus of elasticity of concrete is taken as 3:0 × 104 MPa, and 0.15
Poisson’s ratio of concrete is set to be 0.2 (further parameter analy-
sis shows that these two factors have very little influence on the
T burst / P

bursting force). The equivalent load of the prestressing tendon is 0.10

applied as a uniform pressure on the anchor plate. The boundary
conditions of the model include both vertical and horizontal sup-
ports, as shown in Fig. 10. In postprocessing after the solution, the 0.05
integration of the bursting stresses along the tendon path provides
the magnitude of the bursting force. 0.00
A convergence test is conducted to find an appropriate fineness 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
of the finite-element mesh. Three meshes with elements of 15 × 10, Number of elements in concrete body
30 × 20, and 60 × 40 are used in the test. As can be seen
from Fig. 11, the model with the number of elements equal to Fig. 11. Convergence of finite-element solution

Table 2. Factors Included in Different Methods 30 × 20 gives very close results to bursting forces for all five load
AASHTO CEB-FIP Burdet’s cases compared to the model with the finest mesh. As a result, the
(2007) (1999) STM (1990) Proposed mesh with elements of 30 × 20 is selected as the typical size of the
p p p p element used for the subsequent investigation.
Anchor plate size
p p p Fig. 12 shows the comparisons between the finite-element re-
Eccentricity ×
p p p sults of bursting forces and the predictions of various methods
Inclined tendons ×
p p p for the eccentric anchorage zone. To limit the number of variables,
Explicit formula ×
the size of the anchor plate is kept constant at a ¼ 0:2h, such that a

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 0.25 X

a
T burst ¼ 0:22 Pu ð1 þ γÞ2 ð1
γÞ

h
0.20
X  
a
þ 0:5 Pu j sin αj 1
ð19Þ
0.15
h
T burst / P

FEM in which T burst = bursting force in the anchorage zone acting ahead
0.10 AASHTO of the anchorage device and transverse to the tendon axis; Pu =
CEB-FIP factored tendon force; a = lateral dimension of the anchorage de-
0.05 STM vice or group of devices in the direction considered; γ = tendon
Proposed eccentricity ratio, γ ¼ 2 e=hð0 ≤ γ < 1Þ; e = eccentricity of the
0.00 anchorage device or group of devices with respect to the center
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
of the cross section; h = lateral dimension of the cross section
Relative eccentricity, e / h
in the direction considered; and α = angle of inclination of a tendon
force with respect to the centerline of the member.
Fig. 12. Influence of anchor eccentricity on bursting force
Eq. (19) is based on Eq. (13) and derived using CDMs for
anchorage zones with single concentric, eccentric, and inclined ten-
0.45 dons. The operation of summing is to treat multiple-tendon ancho-
FEM rages with the superposition of single tendons, which will lead to
AASHTO safe anticracking designs.
Proposed This suggestion can be justified for the following reasons. First,
0.35
the proposed Eq. (19) is verified to give more accurate predictions
T burst /P

though comparisons with the linear elastic FEA and testing results,
and a closer prediction is better in terms of both economy and con-
0.25 structability. Second, Eq. (19) is derived from well-established
theoretic models, and it is in a unified form that is capable of treat-
ing anchorage zones with various load configurations. Finally, the
0.15 AASHTO recommendation of Eq. (18) will result in overly con-
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 servative estimates for anchorage zones with eccentric or inclined
Inclination of tendon, α (°) tendons, which may lead to problems of steel congestion during the
casting process.
Fig. 13. Influence of tendon inclination on bursting force

maximum eccentricity ratio of 0.8 (γ ¼ 2e=h ¼ 0:8) can be
reached. As can be seen, both the proposed Eq. (9) and the equation
in CEB-FIP (1999) produce a good agreement with the finite-
element results [the predicted values of Eq. (9) are on average
107% of the finite-element values, with a standard deviation of
7.5%; these two numbers are 113% and 8.3% for the CEB-FIP
(1999) equation]. The bursting forces determined by using the
strut-and-tie model of Burdet (1990) produces a curve similar to
that from the proposed Eq. (9). However, the formula in the
AASHTO LRDF specification gives a very conservative result
in most cases.
Fig. 13 shows the influence of tendon inclination to the bursting
force in the concentric anchorage zone (the size of the anchor plate
is kept constant at a ¼ 0:1h). It indicates that the proposed Eq. (12)
produces a better agreement with the finite-element results com-
pared to the AASHTO formula [the predicted values of Eq. (12)
are on average 103% of the finite-element values, with a standard
deviation of 7.3%, while these two numbers are 117% and 7.9% for
the AASHTO (2007) equation].
Suggested Revision to the AASHTO-LRFD
Specification
The expression for bursting forces in AASHTO (2007) is
X   X
a
T burst ¼ 0:25 Pu 1
þ 0:5j ðPu sin αÞj
h
In accordance with Eq. (13), the following equation is suggested to
replace Eq. (18):
Conclusions
In this paper, CDMs are established for posttensioned anchorage
zones with single concentric, eccentric, and inclined tendons. On
the basis of these individually developed models, a unified equation
to calculate the bursting forces in posttensioned anchorage zones is
proposed. The following conclusions can be made:
1. The CDMs are built on the basis of the geometric and physical
characteristics of the isostatic lines of compression, which are
shown to be capable of reflecting the characteristics of ancho-
rage zones with regard to the distribution of transverse stresses
along the tendon axis;
2. The peak bursting stresses derived from the proposed CDMs
can be used to predict the first crack loads in anchorage zones,
as presented in Eq. (16) for concentric anchorages;
3. The equation for calculating bursting forces in the current
AASHTO-LRFD Bridge Design Specifications is found to
be overly conservative in most cases; and
4. The proposed Eq. (13) is able to handle anchorage zones with
different loading conditions, and is verified to have good ac-
curacy by comparisons with linear elastic finite-element ana-
lysis and testing results.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation
of China (Grant No. 50778038), Scientific Research Founda-
ð18Þ tion of the Graduate School of Southeast University (Grant No.
YBJJ0921), Jiangsu Civil Engineering Graduate Center for
Innovation and Academic Communication Foundation, and the
Scholarship Award for Excellent Doctoral Students of the Ministry
of Education of China. The financial support is greatly appreciated.

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