Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Aci 355.4-19
Aci 355.4-19
An ACI Standard
Qualification of Post-Installed
Adhesive Anchors in
Concrete (ACI 355.4-19) and
Commentary
ACI 355.4-19(21)
Copyright by the American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI. All rights reserved. This material
may not be reproduced or copied, in whole or part, in any printed, mechanical, electronic, film, or other
distribution and storage media, without the written consent of ACI.
The technical committees responsible for ACI committee reports and standards strive to avoid
ambiguities, omissions, and errors in these documents. In spite of these efforts, the users of ACI
documents occasionally find information or requirements that may be subject to more than one
interpretation or may be incomplete or incorrect. Users who have suggestions for the improvement of
ACI documents are requested to contact ACI via the errata website at http://concrete.org/Publications/
DocumentErrata.aspx. Proper use of this document includes periodically checking for errata for the most
up-to-date revisions.
ACI committee documents are intended for the use of individuals who are competent to evaluate the
significance and limitations of its content and recommendations and who will accept responsibility for
the application of the material it contains. Individuals who use this publication in any way assume all
risk and accept total responsibility for the application and use of this information.
All information in this publication is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or
implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular
purpose or non-infringement.
ACI and its members disclaim liability for damages of any kind, including any special, indirect, incidental,
or consequential damages, including without limitation, lost revenues or lost profits, which may result
from the use of this publication.
It is the responsibility of the user of this document to establish health and safety practices appropriate
to the specific circumstances involved with its use. ACI does not make any representations with regard
to health and safety issues and the use of this document. The user must determine the applicability of
all regulatory limitations before applying the document and must comply with all applicable laws and
regulations, including but not limited to, United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) health and safety standards.
Participation by governmental representatives in the work of the American Concrete Institute and in
the development of Institute standards does not constitute governmental endorsement of ACI or the
standards that it develops.
Order information: ACI documents are available in print, by download, through electronic subscription,
or reprint, and may be obtained by contacting ACI.
ACI codes, specifications, and practices are made available in the ACI Collection of Concrete Codes,
Specifications, and Practices. The online subscription to the ACI Collection is always updated, and
includes current and historical versions of ACI’s codes and specifications (in both inch-pound and SI
units) plus new titles as they are published. The ACI Collection is also available as an eight-volume set of
books and a USB drive.
Lee W. Mattis
Chair
Consulting members
Edwin G. Burdette Conrad Paulson
Robert W. Cannon Dan R. Stoppenhagen
Neil M. Hawkins Harry Wiewel*
Paul R. Hollenbach
*
Deceased.
This standard prescribes testing programs and evaluation requirements for CONTENTS
post-installed adhesive anchors intended for use in concrete under the Chapter 1—Introduction and scope, p. 3
design provisions of ACI 318. Testing and assessment criteria are provided 1.1—Introduction
for various conditions of use, including seismic loading; sustained loading; 1.2—Scope
aggressive environments; reduced and elevated temperatures; and for
determining whether anchors are acceptable for use in uncracked concrete
1.3—Units of measurement
only, or acceptable for service both in cracked and uncracked concrete.
Criteria are provided for establishing the characteristic bond strength, Chapter 2—Notation and definitions, p. 5
reductions for adverse conditions, and the anchor category and associated 2.1—Notation
job-site quality control requirements. 2.2—Defintions
Keywords: adhesive anchors; cracked concrete; fasteners; post-installed Chapter 3—General requirements, p. 12
anchors; qualification procedures; uncracked concrete. 3.1—Test organization
3.2—Variables and options
3.3—Test requirements
3.4—Assessment for multiple anchor element types for
ACI Committee Reports, Guides, Manuals, and Commentaries
are intended for guidance in planning, designing, executing, adhesive anchors
and inspecting construction. This document is intended for the 3.5—Assessment for alternate drilling methods
use of individuals who are competent to evaluate the
significance and limitations of its content and recommendations
and who will accept responsibility for the application of the
material it contains. The American Concrete Institute disclaims
any and all responsibility for the stated principles. The Institute
shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising therefrom.
ACI 355.4-19 supersedes ACI 355.4-11, was adopted December 2, 2019, and published
Reference to this document shall not be made in contract January 2020.
documents. If items found in this document are desired by the Copyright © 2020, American Concrete Institute.
Architect/Engineer to be a part of the contract documents, they All rights reserved including rights of reproduction and use in any form or by any
shall be restated in mandatory language for incorporation by means, including the making of copies by any photo process, or by electronic or
mechanical device, printed, written, or oral, or recording for sound or visual reproduc-
the Architect/Engineer. tion or for use in any knowledge or retrieval system or device, unless permission in
writing is obtained from the copyright proprietors.
1
2 QUALIFICATION OF POST-INSTALLED ADHESIVE ANCHORS IN CONCRETE (ACI 355.4-19) AND COMMENTARY
Chapter 4—Requirements for test specimens, 8.11—Tests to determine shear capacity of anchor elements
anchor installation, and testing, p. 18 with nonuniform cross section
4.1—Testing by ITEA and manufacturer 8.12—Simulated seismic tension tests
4.2—Test samples 8.13—Simulated seismic shear tests
4.3—Concrete for test members
4.4—Requirements for test members Chapter 9—Supplemental tests, p. 39
4.5—Anchor installation 9.1—Round-robin tests
4.6—Drill bit requirements 9.2—Tests to determine minimum member thickness
4.7—Test methods
4.8—Tests in cracked concrete Chapter 10—Assessment of anchors, p. 40
4.9—Changes to products 10.1—Analysis of data
10.2—Normalization of anchor capacities for measured
Chapter 5—Requirements for anchor identification, concrete bond and steel strengths
p. 25 10.3—Establishing characteristic values
5.1—Basic requirements 10.4—Assessment of characteristic tension capacity
5.2—Verification associated with concrete breakout and pullout
5.3—Fingerprinting adhesive materials 10.5—Assessment of steel tension capacity
5.4—Packaging 10.6—Assessment of steel shear capacity
10.7—Assessment of minimum member thickness
Chapter 6—Reference tests, p. 25 10.8—Assessment of maximum tightening torque
6.1—Purpose 10.9—Assessment of behavior under crack cycling
6.2—Required tests 10.10—Assessment of freezing-and-thawing behavior
6.3—Conduct of tests 10.11—Assessment of sustained load behavior
10.12—Assessment of performance associated with
Chapter 7—Reliability tests, p. 26 installation direction
7.1—Purpose 10.13—Assessment of performance at elevated temperature
7.2—Required tests 10.14—Assessment of performance with decreased
7.3—Conduct of tests installation temperature
7.4—Reliability tests 10.15—Assessment for cure time at standard temperature
7.5—Sensitivity to hole cleaning—dry concrete 10.16—Assessment of durability requirement
7.6—Sensitivity to hole cleaning—saturated concrete 10.17—Assessment of performance in corner test
7.7—Sensitivity to hole cleaning—water-filled hole 10.18—Assessment of performance in minimum spacing
7.8—Sensitivity to hole cleaning—submerged concrete and edge distance test
7.9—Sensitivity to mixing effort 10.19—Assessment of performance under seismic tension
7.10—Sensitivity to installation in water-saturated concrete 10.20—Assessment of performance under seismic shear
7.11—Sensitivity to installation in water-filled hole— 10.21—Establishment of hole cleaning procedures
saturated concrete 10.22—Establishment of on-site quality control and
7.12—Sensitivity to installation in submerged concrete installation conditions
7.13—Sensitivity to crack width—low-strength concrete 10.23—Assessment based on installation and environmental
7.14—Sensitivity to crack width—high-strength concrete conditions
7.15—Sensitivity to crack width cycling 10.24—Assessment for fire exposure
7.16—Sensitivity to freezing and thawing
7.17—Sensitivity to sustained loading at standard and Chapter 11—Data presentation, p. 52
maximum long-term temperature 11.1—General requirements
7.18—Sensitivity to installation direction 11.2—Contents of evaluation report
7.19—Torque test 11.3—Data presentation
automatic metering and mixing of the adhesive components anchor element is only effective if sufficient unbonded length
is included; however, ongoing monitoring is required to is provided to ensure a reasonable degree of elastic stretch.
check that the equipment is operating within tolerances in Void-free injection of adhesive is critical for the perfor-
accordance with the Manufacturer’s Printed Installation mance of adhesive anchors, particularly for cases involving
Instructions (MPII), particularly with respect to mixture sustained tension load. This standard includes several
ratios, leak tightness, and dwell time. criteria for assessing the effectiveness of the adhesive
This standard is not appropriate for assessing the use of anchor injection system. Nevertheless, the injection of adhe-
adhesives to adhere structural elements to the concrete surface. sive into horizontal and upwardly inclined holes presents
Examples include bonded steel plates or external carbon fiber special challenges. The collapse of a tunnel ceiling in
reinforcement. Other standards exist for these purposes. This Boston, Massachusetts in 2006 highlights this issue. NTSB
standard includes tests to assess the sensitivity of adhesive (2006) documented improper installation of the adhesive
anchor systems to a limited range of aggressive environments, based on observation of failed anchors and anchors adjacent
to the collapsed section. Subsequent laboratory investiga-
including moisture, highly alkaline fluids, and sulfur dioxide.
tions confirmed these findings, see Ocel and Hartmann
While it is believed that these exposure environments envelop a
(2007). The piston plug was developed to minimize injected
range of possible exposures, specific environments (for
air voids (see Fig. 2.2). Laboratory investigations (Silva
example, radiation exposure and chemical production
2016) indicate that injection of adhesive with only an exten-
environments) may require unique assessment.
sion tube, i.e., without the use of a device such as a piston
Due to the variety of possible loading conditions associated plug to provide back pressure during the injection process,
with fatigue and shock loading, this standard does not does not result in a sufficient degree of reliability in the
include tests for these loading variants. Fatigue and shock installation process. The use of a piston plug during the
loading may result in reductions in bond strength, steel injection process consistently results in good installation.
strength, and concrete strength, and these effects are not For small hole diameters (1/4-in. to 3/8-in.), the same effect
addressed by this standard. Caution should be exercised in is accomplished when the extension tube diameter equals the
the determination of whether cyclic loading should be hole diameter.
explicitly considered. These conditions may be evaluated Consequently, the injection of adhesive in the horizontal
separately for specific systems using generally accepted or upwardly inclined direction without the use of a piston
principles. Fatigue is generally less of a problem for the plug or similar back-pressure device to avoid air voids is no
adhesive than for the anchor element; provisions of preload longer included in the scope of this Standard. It is also
in the anchor to reduce the level of stress fluctuation in the important to note that the use of the piston plug for proper