AASHTO and ACI 318-14 Chapter 17

The AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications, 8th Edition, was published in November of 2017. One change that occurred since the 7th edition is the reorganization of Section 5, which is the design of bridge and ancillary structures constructed from reinforced concrete.

A major revision to Section 5 is the new article 13 which deals with the design of cast-in-place and post-installed anchors in concrete. Prior to the 8th Edition, the LRFD Bridge Design Specifications have not contained provisions on how to design anchor connections to concrete, regardless if this was a cast-in-place or post-installed anchor.

Cast-in-place and post-installed anchor systems have been used extensively in highway construction projects for many years, for applications such as bridge girder connections, seismic retro-fit and strengthening, pre-cast concrete member attachments, and attachments of light-poles, signs, guard rails, and pedestrian fencing. Since there were no design provisions in the LRFD Bridge Design Specifications, engineers would use design provisions from other sources such as the Portland Cement Association (PCA) design handbook for cast-in-place anchors or from manufacturer’s product technical data in the case of post-installed anchors. And since 2002, some engineers working on road and bridge projects migrated over to ACI 318 Appendix D which provided design procedures for cast-in-place anchors and some post-installed anchor systems.

With the new reorganization of Section 5, there is now a direct reference to a design of anchor systems for road and bridge projects. The following article from Roads and Bridges Magazine, explains that the design, detailing, and installation of cast-in-place and post-installed anchors must follow the provisions of ACI 318-14 Chapter 17, which harmonizes the design of concrete anchorage with the rest of the building community.
 
Read the full Roads and Bridges article.