Publication

Assuring Quality Adhesive Anchor Installations in the Americas

October 4, 2017

Anchorage to concrete design provisions were first incorporated into the ACI 318 Code in 20021 as Appendix D. In 2011, the design provisions for adhesively bonded anchors were added to the ACI 318-11 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete.2 ACI took a proactive position in response to the recommendations/criticisms from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) resulting from an adhesive anchorage failure in the “Big Dig” tunnel accident in Boston, Massachusetts. Additionally, Adhesive Anchor Installer Certification was made a requirement in ACI 318-11 Code for anchorages with sustained tension loading and installation orientations from horizontal to vertically upward (overhead).

This paper provides an introduction and background to the adhesive anchor certification requirements incorporated into ACI 318 Code (now Chapter 17 in ACI 318-143). The ACI 318 code committee mandated a certification program for adhesive anchors. The program was fast-tracked with the aid of a certification development consultant, which worked with ACI Committee 601A – Adhesive Anchor Installer. ACI assembled a group of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) knowledgeable about adhesive anchors, who identified the criteria and developed examination protocols that installer candidates must follow to obtain certification as ACI Adhesive Anchor Installer (AAI). The result of this fast-tracked effort is an operational certification program with both written and performance examination requirements that has been accepted by the industry and specified by code.

Read the article.

Publisher

3rd International Symposium on Connections between Steel and Concrete

Contact the SGH Authors