DESIGN OF COLUMN

BASE PLATES AND

STEEL ANCHORAGE TO
CONCRETE
Elena Papadopoulos
ENCE 710 Spring 2009
Outline
Introduction
Base plates
Material
Design using AISC Steel Design Guide
Concentric axial load
Axial load plus moment
Axial load plus shear
Anchor Rods
Types and Materials
Design using ACI Appendix D
Tension
Shear

Introduction
Base plates and anchor rods are often the last
structural steel items to be designed but the first
items required on the jobsite
Therefore the design of column base plate and
connections are part of the critical path

Introduction
Vast majority of column base plate connections
are designed for axial compression with little or no
uplift
Column base plate connections can also transmit
uplift forces and shear forces through:
Anchor rods
Friction against the grout pad or concrete
Shear lugs under the base plate or embedding the
column base can be used to resist large forces
Column base plate connections can also be used
to resist wind and seismic loads
Development of force couple between bearing on
concrete and tension in some or all of the anchor rods

Introduction
Anchor rods are needed for all base plates to
prevent column from overturning during
construction and in some cases to resist uplift or
large moments
Anchor rods are designed for pullout and breakout
strength using ACI 318 Appendix D
Critical to provide well-defined, adequate load
path when tension and shear loading will be
transferred through anchor rods
Introduction
Grout is needed to serve as the connection
between the steel base plate and the concrete
foundation to transfer compression loads
Grout should have design compressive strength at
least twice the strength of foundation concrete
When base plates become larger than 24 , it is
recommended that one or two grout holes be
provided to allow the grout to flow easier
Base plate Materials
Base plates should be ASTM A36 material unless
other grade is available
Most base plates are designed as square to
match the foundation shape and can be more
accommodating for square anchor rod patterns
A thicker base plate is more economical than a
thinner base plate with additional stiffeners or
other reinforcements
Base Plate Design
Base plate design in this lecture is using AISC Steel Design Guide
Column Base Plates (First Edition) by John T. DeWolf. A Second Edition
was published in 2006.
Design of Axially Loaded Base
Plates
Required plate area is based on uniform allowable
bearing stress. For axially loaded base plates, the
bearing stress under the base plate is uniform


A
2
= dimensions of concrete supporting foundation
A
1
= dimensions of base plate
Most economical plate occurs when ratio of concrete
to plate area is equal to or greater than 4 (Case 1)
When the plate dimensions are known it is not
possible to calculate bearing pressure directly and
therefore different procedure is used (Case 2)
`
1
2
`
max
7 . 1 85 . 0
c c c p
f
A
A
f f s =|
Case 1: A
2
> 4A
1
1. Determine factored load P
u
2. Calculate required plate area A
1
based on maximum
concrete bearing stress f
p
=1.7f`
c
(when A
2
=4A
1
)

`
) ( 1
7 . 1 6 . 0
c
u
req
f
P
A

=
A + =
) ( 1 req
A N
2
8 . 0 95 . 0
f
b d
= A
N
A
B
req) ( 1
=
3. Plate dimensions B & N
should be determined so m
& n are approximately
equal
Case 1: A
2
> 4A
1

4. Calculate required base plate thickness




where l is maximum of m and n
5. Determine pedestal area, A
2

2
95 . 0 d N
m

=
2
8 . 0
f
b B
n

=
BN F
P
l t
y
u
90 . 0
2
min
=
BN A 4
2
=
Case 2: Pedestal dimensions
known
2
`
2
1
85 . 0 60 . 0
1
(

=
c
u
f
P
A
A
`
1
7 . 1 6 . 0
c
u
f
P
A

=
1.Determine factored load P
u
2.The area of the plate should be equal to larger
of:
3. Same as Case 1
4. Same as Case 1
Design of Base Plates with
Moments
Equivalent eccentricity, e, is calculated equal to moment
M divided by axial force P
Moment and axial force replaced by equivalent axial
force at a distance e from center of column
Small eccentricities equivalent axial force resisted by
bearing only
Large eccentricities necessary to use an anchor bolt
to resist equivalent axial force
Design of Base Plate with Small
Eccentricities
If e<N/6 compressive bearing stress exist everywhere
If e is between N/6 and N/2 bearing occurs only over a
portion of the plate
AB
P
f
2
1
=
I
Mc
BN
P
f =
2 , 1
Design of Base Plate with Small
Eccentricities
1. Calculate factored load (Pu) and moment (Mu)
2. Determine maximum bearing pressure, fp


3. Pick a trial base plate size, B and N
4. Determine equivalent eccentricity, e, and maximum
bearing stress from load, f
1
. If f
1
< fp go to next step,
if not pick different base plate size
5. Determine plate thickness, t
p

1. M
plu
is moment for 1 in wide strip
y
plu
p
F
M
t
90 . 0
4
=
`
1
2
`
7 . 1 85 . 0
c c c p
f
A
A
f f s =|
Design of Base Plate with
Shear
Four principal ways of transferring shear from column
base plate into concrete
1. Friction between base plate and the grout or
concrete surface

The friction coefficient () is 0.55 for steel on grout
and 0.7 for steel on concrete
2. Embedding column in foundation
3. Use of shear lugs
4. Shear in the anchor rods (revisited later in lecture)
c c u n
A f P V
`
2 . 0 s =| |
Design of Shear Lugs
1. Determine the portion of shear which will be resisted by
shear lug, V
lgu
2. Determine required bearing area of shear lug


3. Determine shear lug width, W, and height, H
4. Determine factored cantilevered end moment, M
lgu


5. Determine shear lug thickness
`
lg
lg
85 . 0
c
u
f
V
A
|
=
|
.
|

\
|
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
2
lg
lg
G H
W
V
M
u
u
y
u
F
M
t
90 . 0
4
lg
lg
=
Anchor Rods
Two categories
Cast-in place: set before the concrete is placed
Drilled-in anchors: set after the concrete is hardened
Anchor Rod Materials
Preferred specification is ASTM F1554
Grade 36, 55, 105 ksi
ASTM F1554 allows anchor rods to be supplied
straight (threaded with nut for anchorage) , bent or
headed
Wherever possible use -in diameter ASTM F1554
Grade 36
When more strength required, increase rod
diameter to 2 in before switching to higher grade
Minimum embedment is 12 times diameter of bolt

Cast-in Place Anchor Rods
When rods with threads and nut are used, a more
positive anchorage is formed
Failure mechanism is the pull out of a cone of
concrete radiating outward from the head of the bolt
or nut
Use of plate washer does not add any increased
resistance to pull out
Hooked bars have a very limited
pullout strength compared with that of
headed rods or threaded rods with
a nut of anchorage

Anchor Rod Placement
Most common field problem is placement of anchor
rods
Important to provide as large as hole as possible to
accommodate setting tolerances






Fewer problems if the structural steel detailer
coordinates all anchor rod details with column base
plate assembly
Anchor Rod Layout
Should use a symmetrical pattern in both
directions wherever possible
Should provide ample clearance distance for
the washer from the column
Edge distance plays important role for
concrete breakout strength
Should be coordinated with reinforcing steel to
ensure there are no interferences, more critical
in concrete piers and walls

Design of Anchor Rods for
Tension
When base plates are subject to uplift force T
u
,
embedment of anchor rods must be checked for
tension
Steel strength of anchor in tension

Ase =effective cross sectional area of anchor, AISC Steel Manual Table 7-18
fut= tensile strength of anchor, not greater than 1.9fy or 125 ksi
Concrete breakout strength of single anchor in
tension


h
ef
=embedment
k=24 for cast-in place anchors, 17 for post-installed anchors

2
,
3
= modification factors


ut se s
f A N =
5 . 1 `
ef c b
h f k N = b
No
N
cb
N
A
A
N
3 2
=
Design of Anchor Rods for
Tension
A
No
=Projected area of the
failure surface of a single
anchor remote from edges


A
N
=Approximated as the base
of the rectilinear geometrical
figure that results from
projecting the failure surface
outward 1.5h
ef
from the
centerlines of the anchor

Example of calculation of A
N
with edge
distance (c
1
) less than 1.5h
ef

2
9
ef No
h A =
) 5 . 1 2 )( 5 . 1 (
1 ef ef N
h h c A + =
Design of Anchor Rods for
Tension
Pullout strength of anchor

Nominal strength in tension N
n
= min(N
s
, N
cb
,
N
pn
)
Compare uplift from column, T
u
, to N
n
If T
u
less than |N
n
ok
If T
u
greater than |N
n
must provide tension
reinforcing around anchor rods or increase
embedment of anchor rods
`
4
8
c brg pn
f A N =
Design of Anchor Rods for
Shear
When base plates are subject to shear force, V
u
, and
friction between base plate and concrete is inadequate
to resist shear, anchor rods may take shear
Steel Strength of single anchor in shear

Concrete breakout strength of single anchor in shear



6
,
7
= modification factors
d
o
= rod diameter, in
l = load bearing length of anchor for shear not to exceed 8d
o
, in

b
vo
v
cb
V
A
A
V
7 6
=
5 . 1
1
`
2 . 0
7 c f d
d
l
V
c o
o
b
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
ut se s
f A V =
Design of Anchor Rods for
Shear
A
vo
=Projected area of the failure
surface of a single anchor remote
from edges in the direction
perpendicular to the shear force


A
v
=Approximated as the base of a
truncated half pyramid projected on
the side face of the member

Example of calculation of A
v
with edge
distance
(c
2
) less than 1.5c
1

( )
2
1
5 . 4 c A
vo
=
) 5 . 1 ( 5 . 1
2 1 1
c c c A
v
+ =
Design of Anchor Rods for
Shear
Pryout strength of anchor

Nominal strength in shear V
n
= min(V
s
, V
cb
,
V
cp
)
Compare shear from column, V
u
, to V
n
If V
u
less than |V
n
ok
If V
u
greater than |V
n
must provide shear
reinforcing around anchor rods or use shear
lugs

cb cp cp
N k V =
Combined Tension and Shear
According to ACI 318 Appendix D, anchor rods must
be checked for interaction of tensile and shear forces
2 . 1 s +
n
u
n
u
V
V
N
T
| |
References
American Concrete Institute (ACI) 318-02
AISC Steel Design Guide, Column Base Plates, by John T. DeWolf,
1990
AISC Steel Design Guide (2
nd
Edition) Base Plate and Anchor Rod
Design
AISC Engineering Journal Anchorage of Steel Building Components
to Concrete, by M. Lee Marsh and Edwin G. Burdette, First Quarter
1985
Questions?