High Deformable Anchorage System in Slabs-on-Grade in Hydraulic Structures

Severe local differential displacements and the resulting high stresses in the slabs-on-grade in hydraulic structures are often caused by the displacement of bottom layers with cracks and joints or the presence of swollen soils. In addition to the above factors, the uplift due to hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressure due to water flow under the slabs can also cause differential displacements. In this research, a ductile anchorage system with high deformable concrete element is introduced and using the designed setup, its effectiveness in comparison with conventional elastic anchorage system in the slabs under a wide uniform uplift load has been studied. High deformable concrete elements have the same strength as ordinary concrete but their compressive strain can reach 60%. These types of concrete elements are in the form of precast elements, which have many applications in structures. At first, to obtain a proper high deformable concrete element, several tests were carried out on various samples and compositions, and the behavior of the high deformable elements was studied and achieved. Experimental and numerical results show that the rate of energy absorption in deformable anchorage systems is 4 times that of conventional elastic anchors, and the use of ductile supports can prevent cracking of slabs in hydraulic structures.