TABLE OF CONTENTS As briefly discussed in Chapter 1, horizontal plate anchors are used in the construction of foundations subjected to uplifting load. During the last thirty years or so, a number of increasingly sophisticated theories have been developed to predict the ultimate uplift capacity of horizontal anchors embedded in various types of soils. In this chapter the development of those theories will be discussed. The chapter has been divided into two major parts: (a) plate anchors in sand and (b) plate anchors in clay.
Figure 2-1 shows a plate anchor having a width h and a length B ( B ? h), The embedment depth of this plate anchor is H measured from the ground surface. The embedment ratio is defined as the ratio of the depth of embedment to the width of the anchor, (that is, H/h) If such an anchor is placed at a relatively shallow depth (that is, small embedment ratio), at ultimate load the failure surface will extend to the ground surface (Figure 2-2). The angle ? at which the failure surface intersects the horizontal ground surface will vary. For loose sand and soft clayey soils, a may be equal to 90 ; however, for dense sand and stiff clays, this angle may be close to 45 ? ?/2 (where ? = soil friction angle). This type of behavior of an anchor is referred to as shallow anchor condition. If the anchor is located at a relatively...
