The ultimate uplift capacity of multi-plate strip anchors in undrained clay

Soil anchors are commonly used as foundation systems for structures requiring uplift resistance such as transmission towers, or for structures requiring lateral resistance, such as sheet pile walls. Anchors commonly have more than one plate or bearing element and therefore there is a complex interaction between adjacent plates due to overlapping stress zones. This interaction will affect the failure mode and ultimate capacity. However, no thorough numerical analyses have been performed to determine the ultimate pullout loads of multi-plate anchors. By far the majority of the research has been directed toward the tensile uplift behaviour of single anchors (only one plate). The primary aim of this research paper is to use numerical modelling techniques to better understand plane strain multi-plate anchor foundation behaviour in clay soils. A practical design framework for multi-plate anchor foundations will be established to replace existing semi-empirical design methods that are inadequate and have been found to be excessively under or over conservative. This framework can then be used by design engineers to more confidently estimate the pullout capacity of multi-plate anchors under tension loading.