1.

INTRODUCTION:
A rock anchor or rock bolt is a long anchor bolt, for stabilizing rock excavations, which
may be used in tunnels or rock cuts. It transfers load from the unstable exterior, to the
confined (and much stronger) interior of the rock mass.
Rock bolts were first used in mining starting in the 1890s, with systematic use
documented at the St Joseph Lead Mine in the US in the 1920s.
The Rock Anchoring is a Patented efficient and economical solution for the installation of
Anchors in Rock and/or any Solid Media. The System is Ecologically sound as it requires
no excavation or removal of spoils and has no vibration, hammering or explosive
requirements in its installation. No bonding agent required in the installation process as
the System Components, upon their placement, directly transfers the applied design
forces directly into the surrounding media.
The System can be designed and installed to handle any intensity and type of loading
placed upon it and is only limited by the strength of the surrounding media itself. It is
easily installed with a minimum amount of time, labor and equipment. Once installed, the
System can be easily tested to its design/ultimate load bearing capacity and is ready for
immediate use with known installed structural integrity. No drying and/or curing time
required.

2.APPLICATIONS
Ground anchors are used in civil engineering for the following applications:
o To resist lateral thrust on retaining walls and in-situ diaphragm walls,
o For stabilizing of slopes and land slides,
o To resist uplift on basements and other foundations,
o To strengthen masonry and concrete dams, and
o For testing of large diameter piles.
Rock anchoring has its application used profitably in following areas of civil engineering Retaining walls

 Tower bases
Concrete structures
Concrete form hardware
Tunnels
Mines
Dams
Bridges
Slope stabilization
Rock fall protection

3.TYPICAL DETAILS OF PRESTRESSED ROCK

ANCHOR

FIG. 1
4.TERMINOLOGY
4

For the purpose of this standard the following definitions shall apply (see Fig. 1 ).

Permanent Anchors - Any anchor required and constructed for service life of the
structure.

Temporary Anchors

- Any anchor required and constructed for duration of

construction period only.

Fixed Length - The length of the anchor which is grouted in, from which the pullout
capacity of anchor is achieved.

Free Length - The part of the anchor which is not bonded to the surrounding area and
is free to elongate
.

Fixed Length Grout - Cement grout which is placed/injected in the fixed length of
the anchor that provided anchorage.

Free Length Grout

- The grout surrounding the free length of the anchor. This

secondary injection is provided surrounding the sheathing in case of sheathed anchors.
For unsheathed anchors, this grout is provided after the stressing is completed and anchor
is locked. The main purpose of this grout is to provide corrosion protection.

Consolidation Grouting -Grouting executed in the area surrounding the hole prior
to inserting cables either to waterproof the hole or to strengthen the rock.

Design Load - Assigned load on anchor after allowance for all losses.
Prestressing Steel - The element of the anchor which is allowed to elongate and is
anchored at the bottom to develop necessary prestressing force. This steel can be high
tensile plain wires or standard cables.

Sheathing - Enclosure to the prestressing steel provided for corrosion protection.

Anchorage - The means by which prestressing force is transmitted to rock or structural
element.

Bearing Plate-A plate

used at the top end of the prestressed anchor to distribute

anchor force to the structure.

Allowable Bond Stress of Rock- Bond stress between the rock and the grout
used in the design.. This normally assures a minimum safety factor of 3.

Lugeon - Lugeon is defined as flow of water in litres/minutes/metre

5

length of the test section at a pressure of lMN/me ( 10 kgf/cm2 ) during water test.

Prestressing Force - The load to which the anchors are initially stressed to cater for
design load and allowance for the expected losses.

5. NECESSARY DATA

Service life of anchor (temporary or permanent);

Design load per anchor; and
Soil investigation for following factors:
Complete borehole log indicating types of soil and rock encountered with respect to
depth. The depth of penetration into rock with core drilling should be minimum 10 m
Un drained shear strength and bulk density at different depths
iii)Shear strength and unit weight of rock
Sulphate and chloride contents in soil as well as ground water
Permeability of rock and fissurs -pervious zones water table and artesian head if any
recorded on boreholes

6. ANCHOR DESIGN,
TESTING PROCEDURES:

INSTALLATION

&

As with other rock anchors, the design of the System normally requires core sampling
that identifies the consistency, type and strength of the load bearing media. The
position/depth of the System is determined. The required design loading will determine
the bar size required. Standard sizes available range from diameters of 1 to 2 1/2 inches
with minimum ultimate strengths of 127.5 to 778 kips. The hole size required for the
installation will normally be 1 inch greater than the bar diameter. Core sampling ideally
would be taken at precise location the System is designed for. Upon withdrawing and
inspecting the core samples, the Anchoring System can be installed immediately in the
precise position as determined by the inspection of the samples. The System, consisting
of the anchor head attached to the bar, which is encased by the spreading column, is
lowered into the hole. The spreading/spinner apparatus is attached and centered in contact
with the surface. The System is rotated, using the core sampling power unit, opening the
anchor head into the load bearing media, in a predetermined controlled manner. This
places the anchor head conically into the rock, which effectively utilizes the maximum
strength of the load bearing rock via the Anchoring System. The casing, if used and
required for coring by soils overburden, and/or the spreading column is 2 Anchor Design,
Installation & Testing Procedures (contd.): removed, allowing the System to be
immediately tested and placed into the use it was designed for. Where the Rock
Anchoring System is used in applications with rock at the surface, without coring
requirements, its installation is greatly simplified. The drilled hole size is determined by
the design loading. The hole is drilled to the desired System depth. The System,
consisting of the anchor head attached to the bar, which is encased by the spreading
6

column, is lowered into the hole. The spreading/spinner apparatus is attached and
centered in contact with the surface. The System is rotated using the hole drilling power
unit, opening the anchor head into the load bearing media, in a predetermined controlled
manner. This places the anchor head conically into the rock, which effectively utilizes the
maximum strength of the load bearing rock via the Anchoring System. The spreading
column is removed allowing the System to be immediately tested and placed into its
designed use. If required, the System may be post-tensioned in order to meet current
seismic loading safety measures. Corrosion protection for the bars can be accomplished
via any desired methods currently used. The force transmitting Anchor head can be made
of stainless steel, which can handle any compressive force that is place on it. The bar is
the only component of the System that experiences the tensile forces placed upon the
System, which can also be made of stainless steel.

7. METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION

7.1 DRILLING
7

Drilling Through Overburden - Drilling through overburden is normally carried

out by suitable equipment. For keeping the side stable, either temporary easing is
provided or bentonite mud circulation is used. The size of the hole depends upon the
capacity of the anchor. In case of inclined bores use of casing tube shall be obligatory.

Drilling Through Rock - Drilling through rock is carried out by using either rotary
method with water flush or using pneumatic percussion method with air and/or water
flush.

7.2 WATER PROOFING OF HOLE

After drilling through rock a water test is carried out.
The anchorage length (fixed length) for all permanent anchors has to be tested for waterproofing to avoid corrosion and if water loss is found to be excessive the hole is grouted.
The grout is then re-drilled and water test repeated and the whole procedure is repeated
till satisfactory lugeon value is obtained.
Lugeon: Lugeon is defined as flow of water in liters/minutes/meter length of the test
section at a pressure of 10 kg/cm2.

7.3 FABRICATION OF ANCHORS

Anchors can be shop fabricated or fabricated on site depending upon the construction
requirements. Anchors shall be free of dirt, deterimental dust or any other deleterious
substance. Anchors shall be handled and protected prior to installation to avoid corrosion
or physical damage.

7.4 LOWERING ANCHORS

Anchors are placed in accordance with type of anchors.

 Suitable guide system and temporary fixing of the anchor is required to avoid movement
of anchor during grouting.
Grout tubes are checked to ensure that they are free.
Suitable spacers are also provided when required to ensure that anchor assembly does not
get entangled.

7.5 FIXED LENGTH GROUTING

After the anchor is lowered, the fixed length of the anchor is grouted.
Grouting is carried out under pressure (@ 4-8 kg/cm 2) by fixing a packer at the top of the
fixed length or as necessary in accordance with the type of anchor.
Normally thickest possible grouting (0.5 water cement ratio) is adopted for primary
grouting.
Adequate care is required so that the free length of the anchor remains free to elongate.

7.6 STRESSING
Stressing is carried out after 21 days of grouting when, it attains the required strength.
Depending on the different types of anchors used, details of the stressing jack vary.
The anchor is stressed for about 10 percent of the load and elongation measurements
taken beyond this range.
This takes care of any seating errors.
Anchor is subsequently stressed to 10 percent excess load over the design and elongation
noted.
After noting the elongation, the anchor is locked either to design load or part of the
design load depending on the requirements.

8. SPACERS & CENTRALIZERS

Spacers: The purpose of a spacer is to help insure that grout surrounds each strand for
corrosion protection and for bond strength development. Designers should specify the
desired distance between spacers (typically 7'-10').

Centralizers:

Centralizers are placed over the assembled strand bundle in order to

maintain the required spacing between the anchor and the borehole so that an adequate
thickness of grout (minimum 0.5") surrounds the anchor. A wide variety of centralizers
are available depending upon the anchor type.

9. TESTING OF ANCHORS
Water-Proofing - The anchorage length ( fixed length ) for all permanent anchors
has to be tested for water-proofing to avoid corrosion. Water tests are normally carried
out by fixing a packer at the top of the fixed length or top of holes and conducting the test
under pressure. Normally if the water loss is less than 3 lugeons, the hole is considered to
be satisfactory and where salinity in the grout is high, minimum acceptable permeability
value is taken as 1 lugeon.

Strength

- During the stressing operation 100 percent anchors are stressed to 10

percent over design load to check their suitability.

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10.
PHYSICAL
MODELLING
COMPRESSIVE
BEHAVIOUR
ANCHORED ROCK MASSES

OF
OF

The mechanical characteristics of rock masses anchored with bolts play a critical
role in anchored slope and underground buildings. In this study, the components
and their mixing ratios of similar materials, such as rock masses, are simulated.
The materials similar to the anchored bolts and cement are selected. The physical
and mechanic properties of these materials are tested. Based on these, an
experimental model and a method are designed with a focus on a uniaxial
compression test on anchored rock masses. A series of tests on the anchored
specimens uniaxial compression strength are conducted under the conditions of
varying numbers and installations of anchor bolts. The results reveal that
compared with the specimens without anchor bolts, the peak strength, elastic
modulus, and shear strength of the specimens with both perpendicular and
horizontal bolts are improved. Furthermore, it is indicated that the improvement
attributable to the horizontal bolts is slightly lower than that with vertical bolts.
This suggests that the uniaxial compression strength is heterogeneous in different
directions.

11. CONCLUSIONS
Rock anchors have been used successfully over the past thirty years on
nearly four hundred dams and hydropower facilities in all over the
world.
Rock anchors provide a cost-effective, environmentally acceptable low
maintenance solution for rehabilitating dams to meet modern design
standards.
North American practice has evolved substantially over the past four
decades through emphasis on codes, technical specifications, and
improvements in construction techniques. Particular attention has been
paid to corrosion protection.
Post-tensioned anchors have a long history of being successfully
applied on FERC regulated hydropower facilities in a wide range of
geometries and capacities.

11

12.REFERENCES
1.Hong-Yuan Fu; et al Professor, Changsha Univ. of Science and Technology, Changsha,
Hunan, 410076, China (corresponding author).

2.Davidson, S. W., An Investigation into the Uplift Capacity of Grouted Rock Anchors in
Weathered Rock, presented to the Georgia Institute of Technology, in 1978, in partial fulfillment
of
the
requirements
for
the
degree
of
Master
of
Science.
3.NPTEL Lectures and notes
4.Wikipaedia
5.IS CODES - IS 10270-1982, IS 11309-1985

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ROCK ANCHORING TECHNIQUE

SUBMITTED BY PRASANJIT ROY

REGISTRATION NO- 15-21-409

13

CONTENTS
TOPIC
NO.

PAGE

1.INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................1
2.APPLICATIONS..................................................................................2
3.TYPICAL DETAILS OF
PRESTRESSED ROCK ANCHOR........................................................3
4.TERMINOLOGY.................................................................................4-5
5. NECESSARY DATA..........................................................................5
6. ANCHOR DESIGN, INSTALLATION & TESTING PROCEDURES..5-6
7. METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION......................................................6
7.1 DRILLING........................................................................................7
7.2 WATER PROOFING OF HOLE.......................................................7
7.3 FABRICATION OF ANCHORS ......................................................7
7.4
ANCHORS.........................................................................8
7.5 FIXED LENGTH GROUTING..........................................................8
7.6 STRESSING........................................................................................8
8. SPACERS & CENTRALIZERS...........................................................9
9. TESTING OF ANCHORS....................................................................9
10. PHYSICAL MODELLING OF COMPRESSIVEBEHAVIOUR......10
11. CONCLUSION...................................................................................10

14

LOWERING

12.REFERENCES......................................................................................11

15