Review of Testing and Qualification of Post-Installed Anchors under Seismic Actions for Structural Applications

During earthquakes, buildings are subjected to loads well beyond their usual demands, resulting in high stresses in the structural components and additional inertial forces coming from the non-structural elements. When post-installed anchors are used to form the connection between non-structural or structural members and the primary reinforced concrete structure, these anchors are also subjected to high seismic demands. To determine whether a post-installed anchor is suitable for such applications, it is assessed for its performance under seismic demands. In this review paper, the current European approach for testing and qualification of post-installed anchors under seismic actions is reviewed and discussed in the context of structural applications where anchors are used to form the connection between structural members that participate in the load-transfer mechanism against seismic loads. The first part of this paper provides a description of the testing procedures and the criteria against which the anchor performance is assessed. The procedures and assessment criteria are discussed regarding the suitability in the case of the above-described structural applications. In the second part, the qualification of anchors under seismic actions is discussed in the light of an upcoming performance-based design approach for anchors. In such an approach, information on the displacement and hysteretic behavior of an anchor in a broader range of the load–displacement curve is of vital importance. Therefore, additional testing approaches might be required in order to supplement the information on anchor performance provided in the current testing procedures. One such testing approach for pulsating tension load is reported.