BEHAVIOUR OF ANCHORS UNDER HORIZONTAL PULL IN CLAY MEDIUM

Abstract

Anchors in clay are used in many situations. Their designs are based on either empirical rules or the conventional earth pressure theories, which yield unecono-mical results. The study on load-deformation characteristics of vertical plate anchors embedded in clay is undertaken in the present investigation through the model tests. The problem has been studied as a two dimensional one on steel anchor plates of five different sizes 9 i.e. 1.5 9 2.0 , 2.5 9 L-.0 and 8.0 cm. The plates are embedded in vertical position at different depths ranging from 1.5 cm to 32 cm. Two different consistencies- of clay namely very soft and soft clay have been used. The pull has been applied in the horizontal direction. During the tests the failure patterns have been closely observed. Depending upon the observed failure pattern the anchors have been classified as shalow and deep. The influence of important factors like the size of anchor, depth of embedment, and consistency of clay has been studied on the anchorage capacity and the fa.ljuae displacements. Based on these observations conclusions have been drawn. A simple analysis to compute the anchorage capacity on the basis of observed failure pattern has been suggested. 1. comparison of results has also been made with the existing theoretical concepts and the experimental investigations of other investigators.