Design of Headed Anchorage Bars in Reinforced Concrete Structures

This guide covers the design and application of headed bars as compact anchorage for reinforcement in congested or constrained concrete structures. Based on Eurocode 2, it explains the behaviour, analysis and verification of headed bars as alternatives to bends, hooks and long anchorages.

Properly detailed headed bars can shorten anchorage zones, ease reinforcement congestion, improve access for concrete placement and simplify reinforcement assembly. The book sets out the mechanical and code basis of headed-bar anchorage and provides systematic procedures for qualifying the head-to-bar connection and assessing concrete-anchorage performance. It translates the provisions of BS EN 1992-1-1:2023 and the ACES Design Guide for Use of Headed Bars to Eurocode 2: 2025, into practical design forms, applicability conditions, calculation workflows, detailing requirements and verification checks. The discussion extends beyond terminal anchorage to headed-bar laps in joints, anchorage of tension ties in strut-and-tie regions, headed bars used as shear reinforcement and double-headed studs used in punching-shear systems. Worked examples illustrate a headed-bar lap in a precast slab joint and the anchorage of a pile-cap tension tie. A case study of a completed project in Singapore examines the use of headed bars in a congested transfer beam. The recorded installation data demonstrate the potential of headed bars to mitigate congestion, improve installation productivity, reduce reinforcement quantities and enhance buildability.

The book will benefit structural engineers and other professionals involved in the design, assessment and construction of complex concrete structures, particularly heavily reinforced buildings and infrastructure projects. Its practical approach supports the application of headed reinforcement in accordance with Eurocode 2 and related international standards.