What is the Difference Between Mechanical vs. Adhesive Post-Installed Anchors?
Mechanical anchors transfer load by friction, bearing, or mechanical interlock and can be loaded immediately after installation. Adhesive anchors transfer load through bond between the anchor, adhesive, and base material, offering greater flexibility in embedment depth, diameter selection, and edge distance requirements and cannot be immediately loaded.
When considering different fastening technologies, several factors affect the decision-making process to ensure the optimal solution for an application. Anchors are often used to connect structural elements to masonry and concrete in buildings and structures.
Choosing the ideal anchoring technology depends on the application and the conditions. There are also certain features to consider. For example, adhesive anchors offer large amounts of application versatility by utilizing a wide range of diameters and embedment depths. Alternatively, mechanical anchors offer immediate loading capabilities that may be needed for an attachment.
Regardless of the technology, each application offers unique demands. Anchors designed for use in concrete and masonry develop resistance to loading based on one or more of the following mechanisms.
Post-Installed Anchors come in two categories: Mechanical and Adhesive
This is the mechanism used by most post-installed mechanical expansion anchors to resist loads. The frictional resistance resulting from expansion forces generated between the anchor and the wall of the drilled hole may also be supplemented by local deformation of the concrete. The frictional force is proportional to the magnitude of the expansion stresses generated by the anchor. Torque-controlled expansion anchors use follow-up expansion to increase the expansion force in response to increases in loading beyond the installation torque-induced preload or to adjust for changes in the state of the base material (cracking).
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