Versuchstechnische Bestimmung der Eignung von Befestigungssystemen unter seismischer Beanspruchung - Konzeption von Versuchsaufbauten und Bedeutung der Versuchsparameter nach Annex E der ETAG 001

Evaluation of anchors under seismic actions by means of experimental testing

The current European approval system for anchors for use in concrete is based on the European Technical Approval Guideline 001 (ETAG 001). It is valid for static and quasi-static loading situations and considers tests with cycling loading situations. Thereby, tests with crack movement and pulsating tension load are just taken into account in a quite reduced range. Explicit seismic loadings are not covered by this European approval system, in contrast to the US. Within the US system tests under pulsating tension load und tests under alternating shear load cycling are required. By means of the experience, taken from tests according to ACI 355.2, the Annex E of ETAG 001 was elaborated for the consideration of seismic aspects in a more severe way in the European approval procedure.
The first part of this article gives an overview of the actual valid approval procedure. In the second part the specifications for the required tests of the Annex E of ETAG 001 regarding the anchor performance class 1 and performance class 2 are pointed out. The third part of this contribution deals with definitions and boundary conditions of the guideline for the individual tests. On the one hand, tests under alternating shear load cycling are considered and on the other hand a few critical points for the performance of tests with tension load and varying crack width are discussed. For each point a recommendation based on available test results is given.