Abstract
AbstractThe poor performance and durability of traditional steel tendon and cement grout have become serious constraints to the development of ground anchor systems, especially when these systems are permanent features in large-scale projects such as ground anchors with capacities of more than 4,000 kN in Aizhai Bridge, China. This paper presents a large-scale ground anchor system with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) tendon and reactive powder concrete (RPC) grout as the bonding media in both above-ground and below-ground parts. Two full-scale ground anchor specimens named GA12-20 and GA12-9 were designed and installed at the construction site, and their behavior was systematically studied through monotonic and cyclic load testing. The two systems displayed acceptable displacements under both monotonic load testing with maximum tension twice the design lock-off load and in cyclic load testing under about 90% of its bearing capacity, with residual displacements all less than 5 mm. Furthermore, the bond stress distributions in the grouted portions of the rods in tendon showed both systems have reliable bonding capacities under tension. This innovative ground anchor system with CFRP tendon and RPC grout showed a good behavior and successfully served as the ground anchor of the Aizhai Bridge.
