Prediction of the creep behaviour of bonded anchors until failure - A rheological approach

This contribution presents a model which accurately describes the nonlinear viscoelastic deformation behaviour of bonded anchors under sustained load. The model consists of rheological elastic, plastic and viscous components which possess nonlinear material properties. Nonlinearities depending on the applied stress level, the duration of the load period and material degradation processes are included for this purpose. The values of the input parameters for the rheological components can be experimentally determined by three series of tests on bonded anchors. The model enables the prediction of primary, secondary and tertiary creep until failure as well as time-to-failure. It is therefore suitable for service-life prediction.