FE-modelling of behaviour of granular anchors in rock and soils

The paper is concerned with granular anchors in rock and soils. Model tests and numerical calculations were performed. The effect of different parameters on the behaviour of anchors was investigated: anchor length, anchor diameter, initial density and mean grain diameter of the granular material, anchor roughness and stiffness of the borehole wall. The experiments were modelled with a finite element method and a polar hypoplastic constitutive relation. The relation can capture the salient properties of granular materials during shearing. A satisfactory agreement between experiments and numerical calculations was obtained. Advantages and limitations of granular anchors in rock and soils were outlined.