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Climbing Protection System
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| Anchors Part 3 |
Artical
Number:27 |
| Overview: |
When building anchors, trade-offs and compromises are inevitable: few systems can be arranged perfectly. It is important not to lose sight of the broader perspectives of time, the amount and size/type of protection available, and realistic assessment of requirements. Beware of becoming involved in an engineering exercise when building anchors. The simplest, fastest solution is usually the best one. |
Evaluation of Anchor Strength
The criteria used for evaluating anchor strength are:
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Evaluate the individual pieces of protection used in the anchor.
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Assess potential for multiplication of force.
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The amount of redundancy (that is, if one part of the anchor should fail, are
there other parts available for back-up).
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Evaluation of Pieces
The quality of all protection placements can be assessed by considering the following
points:
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What size and type is the piece? All other factors being equal, larger and simpler
pieces have greater structural strength.
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What is the quality of the material (e.g. rock, ice, snow) the piece is placed
in? Some types of material are inherently stronger than others. Material quality
in a given place may vary.
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What is the quality of the placement itself? A perfect fit, with large area of
surface contact is ideal.
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Is there potential for multiplication of forces? Minimize force multiplication
whenever possible.
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How well is the piece oriented in relation to the anticipated direction of force
that will be applied? Multidirectional pieces may be required in some applications. |
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Multiplication Of Force
Multiplication of force should be minimized whenever possible in multi-point anchors. Placements in multi-point anchors can be oriented horizontally to one another or vertically. Vertical orientations more effectively distribute loads: the angle of the connecting slings is generally less thereby reducing potential vector forces.
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