M INING

SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
Mining Science and Technology 20 (2010) 0625–0628
www.elsevier.com/locate/jcumt

Action mechanism of a mechanical end-anchorage bolt

WU Yu1,2, MAO Xianbiao1,2, HUANG Jinglong2, SUN Fengjuan1,2, YAO Banghua1,2,*
1
State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology,
Xuzhou 221008, China
2
School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China

Abstract: Axial compression stress, produced by the pre-tightening force of a bolt, is a necessary condition for surrounding rock to
form a whole structure. For this study, we built a mechanical model for an end-anchorage bolt, which represented the effect of a
bolt on the surrounding rock in roadways in order to obtain its elastic solution. Simultaneously, we analyzed factors affecting the
axial compression of the bolt on the surrounding rock and obtained the axial stress contours of the anchorage area through this elas-
tic solution. The results indicate that 1) the axial compression stress in the anchorage area is proportional to the pre-tightening force
and confirms the rule that stress declines sharply with the increase in axial distance from the bolt, with an effective stress radius of 1
m; 2) the maximum axial compression stress declines first and then rises with the increase in depth from the surface of the anchor-
age surrounding rock and 3) the size of the axial compression area is mainly determined by the length of the bolt.
Keywords: mechanical end-anchorage bolt; mechanical model; stress state; elastic solution

1 Introduction ment using photoelasticity and, as well, studied stress

As an important technique in rock engineering, bolt
anchorage has been widely applied in coal mine
roadway support. The action mechanism of a bolt is a
significant basis for bolt support design, on which
researchers in the field of rock engineering at home
and abroad have carried out many studies with vari-
ous methods, including theoretical analyses, numeri-
cal analyses, analog simulation and field measure-
ments, obtaining a considerable amount of success.
For example, Yang et al. investigated the production
mechanism and distribution of an anchorage force as
well as its mechanical effect on the surrounding rock
by using theoretical analysis and numerical calcula-
tion, putting forward the viewpoint that the essence of
a mechanical bolt can be summarized as increasing
cohesion, increasing the modulus of elasticity of the
anchorage rock mass, as well as decreasing its Pois-
son ratio and improving the conditions of stress[1]. Su
Xia studied the action mechanism of bolts with nu-
merical simulation by using the RFPA software and
proposed that a “group anchorage effect” exists when
the distance between bolts is small[2]. Wang Qiyi and
Zhang Xianzhi investigated the action mechanism of
a bolt support in a Xiangxi gold mine in an experi-
Received 11 November 2009; accepted 20 January 2010
*Corresponding author. Tel: 86 13852082572
E-mail address: wu_yu318@163.com
doi: 10.1016/S1674-5264(09)60256-8
distribution of an anchorage area given different
support densities[3]. Other researchers also made great
effort to investigate the support mechanism of bolts
and produced a positive effect in an analysis of the
stress characteristic of a bolt and showed a deep un-
derstanding of its action mechanism[4-13]. In our study,
we built a mechanical model of an end-anchorage
bolt acting on surrounding rock and obtained an elas-
tic theoretical solution. As well, we analyzed factors
affecting the compression effect of the bolt on the
surrounding rock in an axial direction, which is of
great theoretical importance in support of research in
coal mines.
2 Mechanical model for action of end-an-
chorage bolt on surrounding rock
We studied the end-anchorage bolt of which one
end was anchored on the surface of the surrounding
rock through a tray, while the other end was fastened
in the surrounding rock through a bolt head. When a
twisting moment was applied to the heading, a uni-
form pre-tension could be exerted on the bolt, with
the two points of strength at both ends. In order to
study this problem, we made some necessary and
suitable simplifications: 1) the anchorage surrounding
rock can be regarded as semi-infinite solid; 2) the size
of both the heading and tray of the bolt are relatively
small, so that their effect on the surrounding rock can
626 Mining Science and Technology Vol.20 No.4

be simplified as a pair of equal and opposite forces, K

p and p′ .

K
If we assume that the length of the bolt is h and 5RFNVXUIDFH
with the above simplification, the action of the bolt 2 [
anchorage on the surrounding rock can be treated as a 5

K
problem of a semi-infinite solid, subject to a pair of 3

]
K
equal but opposite forces in the interior of the solid 5
U
and on its surface (Fig. 1a), while the bolt is extended \ \ 0[\]
[
by the two forces (Fig. 1b). Obviously, we can ana-
lyze the action on the rock surrounding the anchorage
by adding the effect of the two forces. ]

S Fig. 3 Mechanical model of force at a point in the

5RFNVXUIDFH interior of a semi-infinite solid
2 S
[
K
p ­ 3x2 z ªz R
5RFN
σx = ® − (1 − 2ν ) « −
%ROW 2ʌR 2 ¯ R 3 ¬R R + z
p′
\ x 2 (2 R + z ) º °½ p­ ( z − h) 3 x 2 ( z − h)
p′ + 2 »¾
− ® −b1 3
+ b2
R( R + z ) ¼ ¿° 8ʌ ¯ R1 R15
]
3( z − h) 4( z + h) 30hx 2 z ( z + h)
(a) (b)
 b1 + b4 + b2
R23 R23 R27
Fig. 1 Mechanical model on the effect of a bolt
on surrounding rock 3 x 2 ( z − h) 6h( z + h) z 12h 2 ( z + h)
+ b3 − b1 + b5
R25 R25 R25
3 Elastic solution of stress distribution of
anchorage surrounding rock ª 4 § x2 x 2 · º °½
+ b6 « ¨ 1 − − 2 ¸» ¾
3.1 Mechanical model of force at a point on the ¬ R2 ( R2 + z + h) © R2 ( R2 + z + h) R2 ¹ ¼ ¿°
surface of a semi-infinite solid (1a)
We can use a Love displacement function to solve p ­3y2 z ªz R
this problem (Fig. 2). If, according to dimensional σy = − ® − (1 − 2ν ) « −
analysis, a suitable displacement function were be 2 ʌR 2 ¯ R3 ¬R R + z
selected and boundary conditions added, we could y 2 (2 R + z ) º °½ P ­ ( z − h) 3 y 2 ( z − h)
obtain the elastic solution for this model, i.e., a Bous- + 2 »¾
− ® −b1 + b2
R( R + z ) ¼ ¿° 8π ¯ R13
R15
sinesq solution[14].
3( z − h) 4( z + h) 30hy 2 z ( z + h)
 b1 + b4 + b2
R23 R23 R27
\ 3 y 2 ( z − h) 6hz ( z + h) 12h 2 ( z + h)
+ b3 − b1 + b5
R25 R25 R25
4 § y2 y 2 · °½
+b6 ¨1 − − 2 ¸¾
R2 ( R2 + z + h) © R2 ( R2 + z + h) R2 ¹ °¿
(1b)
Fig. 2 Mechanical model of force at a point on the
3 pz 3 P ­ ( z − h) 3( z − h)3
surface of a semi-infinite solid σz = − + ®b1 + b2
2ʌR5 8ʌ ¯ R13 R15
3.2 Mechanical model of force at a point in the
interior of a semi-infinite solid ( z − h) 30hz ( z + h)3 3 z ( z + h) 2
 b1 + b2 + b3
R23 R27 R25
For this model, a similar solution procedure will be
followed and we should obtain an elastic solution, i.e., 3h( z + h)(5 z − h) ½
−b2 ¾ (1c)
a Mindli solution[15]. R25 ¿
Given this analysis, an elastic solution on anchor-
age surrounding rock acted under a pre-tightening where r = x2 + y 2 ; R = r2 + z2 ;
force p produced by a single mechanical end-an-
chorage bolt can be obtained with the addition of a R1 = r 2 + ( z − h)2 ; R2 = r 2 + ( z + h) 2 ; and
Boussinesq solution and a Mindli solution. b1 = (1 − 2μ ) (1 − μ ) ; b2 = 1 (1 − μ ) ;
WU Yu et al Action mechanism of a mechanical end-anchorage bolt 627

b3 = (3 − 4μ ) (1 − μ ) ; b4 = μ (1 − 2 μ ) (1 − μ ) ; on the xOz plane. The actions of the end-anchorage

bolt on the surrounding rock are simplified as a pair
b5 = μ (1 − μ ) ; b6 = 1 − 2μ .
of concentrated forces during the before-mentioned
model, without taking into account the area of tray.
4 Characteristic of axial compression stress Because of this simplification, the solution to this
for anchorage surrounding rock model is inaccurate for regions near the two ends of
Given the action mechanism of the bolt and as- the bolt, in which case we merely observe the stress
suming that the pre-tightening force of the bolt is p, in regions far from both ends. The change in axial
the bearing capacity and stability of the surrounding compression stress along the radial distance at vari-
rock increase because of the force p. The reason for ous depths (d=0.5, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, 1.5 m) from the sur-
this is that p can exert compression stress, ız, on the face of the anchorage surrounding rock, given a bolt
surrounding rock, which can lead to an increase in length h of 2 m and a pre-tightening force P of 100
friction force on the joint plane and crack faces. kN, is illustrated in Figs. 5a and 5b respectively.
From Fig. 5 axial compression stress decreases rap-
idly as a function of radial distance. It becomes very
small at a distance 1 m away from the bolt, which
σz means that effective action radius for a bolt with h=2
m is only about 1 m from the point of view of axial
compression stress. Furthermore, the maximum axial
p′
compression stress decreases at first and then in-
creases with depth d in the anchorage surrounding
rock. This is because regions near the two ends are
seriously compressed under the action of a pair of
concentrated forces, while their action on the middle
Fig. 4 Stress calculation model acted by a single bolt
area is relatively weak. Also, we can see that the axial
4.1 Axial compression stress for anchorage sur- compression stress is proportional to the pre-tight-
rounding rock and the effect factors ening force described by Eq.(1c).
As an axisymmetric problem, it needs to be studied

 


$[LDOFRPSUHVVLYH

$[LDOFRPSUHVVLYH

G P G P
VWUHVVN3D

VWUHVVN3D

 G P G P

G P  G P


 
         
5DGLDOGLVWDQFHIURPEROWP 5DGLDOGLVWDQFHIURPEROWP

(a) (b)
Fig. 5 Change in axial compression stress as a function of radial distance form bolt

4.2 Determination of axial compression and ten-

'HSWKIURPURFNVXUIDFHP
'HSWKIURPURFNVXUIDFHP

sion regions in anchorage area

We obtained axial compression and tension regions
(Figs. 6a, 6b) by using an elastic solution and ob-
tained the corresponding contours simultaneously
(Figs. 7a, 7b) with bolt lengths h of 1.5 and 2 m and a
pre-tightening force P of 100 kN. In Fig. 6 it is
clearly seen that bolt length directly determines the
size of the compression region; the longer the bolt 
length, the larger the compression region. As well, 
from Fig. 7 we can see clearly that there is stress (a) h=2.0 m (b) h=1.5 m
concentration at both ends and that the stress de-
Fig. 6 Distribution of axial stress area for
creases in the region 1 m from the bolt, which proves
anchorage surrounding rock
that the effective radius of radial action for a bolt with
h=2 m, is less than 1 m.
628 Mining Science and Technology Vol.20 No.4

'HSWKIURPURFNVXUIDFHP

(a) h=2.0 m
Fig. 7 Contour map of axial stress in anchorage surrounding rock
5 Conclusions
We built a mechanical model for an end-an-
chorage bolt, which represents the effect of the bolt
on the surrounding rock in roadways and obtained
an elastic solution. Simultaneously, we analyzed
factors affecting axial compression of the bolt on
the surrounding rock and obtained the axial stress
contours of the anchorage area by using the elastic
solution. The results indicate that: 1) the axial
compression stress in an anchorage area is propor-
tional to its pre-tightening force and confirms the
rules of change that stress declines sharply with an
increase in the axial distance from the bolt, with an
effective stress radius of 1 m; the maximum axial
compression stress declined first and then in-
creased with the growing depth from the surface of
the anchorage surrounding rock; 2) the size of the
axial compressive area is mainly determined by the
length of the bolt.
Acknowledgements
Projects are the National Basic Research Program
of China (No.2007CB209400), the 111 Project
(No.B07028), and the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Nos.50634050 and 50904065).
References
[1] Yang S S, Zhang B S. The influence of bolt action force
to the mechanical property of rocks. Rock and Soil Me-
chanics, 2003, 24(3): 279-282. (In Chinese)
[2] Su X. RFPA Numerical Simulation and Experiment
Research on Action Mechanism of Bot [Master disserta-
tion]. Beijing: Tsinghua University, 2004. (In Chinese)
[3] Wang Q Y, Zhang X Z. Photoelastic analysis on action
'HSWKIURPURFNVXUIDFHP
(b) h=1.5 m
mechanism of bolt in Xiangxi gold mine. Ground Pres-
sure and Strata Control, 2002, 34(5): 540-543. (In Chi-
nese)
[4] Kang L X, Yang S S. Similarity simulation research on
stability of arched anchorage structure. Ground Re-
search of Changsha, 1987, 7(1): 50-57. (In Chinese)
[5] Chen Y X, Wang X, Liu S W. Analysis of stability of
bolt support in roadway using numerical simulation.
Journal of Liaoning Technical University, 2004, 23(4):
588-590. (In Chinese)
[6] He Y N, Han L J, Shao P. Some problems of rock me-
chanics for roadways stability in depth. Journal of
China University of Mining & Technology, 2005, 35(3):
287-295. (In Chinese)
[7] Zhang N, Gao M S. High-strength and pretension bolt-
ing support of coal roadway and its application. Journal
of China University of Mining & Technology, 2004,
33(5): 524-527. (In Chinese)
[8] Sofianos A I, Kapenis A P. Effect of Strata Thickness on
the Stability of Anidealized Bolted Underground Roof.
Balkema: Mine Planning and Equipment Selection,
1996.
[9] Rota M. A methodology for seismic vulnerability of
masonry arch bridge surroundings. Journal of Earth-
quake Engineering, 2005, 9(2): 331-353.
[10] Indraratna B, Kaiser P K. Analytical model for the de-
sign of grouted rock bolt. Int J Numer Anal Meth Ge-
omech, 1990, 14: 227-251.
[11] Freeman T J. The behavior of fully-bonded rock bolts in
the kielder experimental tunnel. Tunnels Tunneling,
1978, 10(5): 37-40.
[12] Malvar L J. Bond reinforcement under controlled con-
finement. ACI Mater J, 1992, 89(6): 593-601
[13] Yue C, Tetsuro E, Yu J J. An analytical model to predict
axial load in grouted rock bolt for soft rock tunneling.
Tunneling and Underground Space Technology, 2004,
19: 607-618. (In Chinese)
[14] Xu Z L. Mechanics of Elasticity. Beijing: Higher Educa-
tion Press, 1990. (In Chinese)
[15] Zhu Y Z, Cheng N. Viscoelastic solutions and applica-
tion of kelvin semi-infinite. Structure & Environment
Engineering, 2006, 33(3): 30-36. (In Chinese)