State Library of South Australia, Adelaide

The State Government of South Australia has commenced a programme of upgrading public buildings to meet earthquake code requirements. Adelaide experienced an earthquake in 1954 which, whilst causing no major damage, made the city more aware of the dangers from earthquakes in Australia than most other population centres.

Adelaide is noted for its fine 19th century buildings and one of the most attractive of these is the State Library of South Australia in North Terrace. The ground floor of the building is supported over the basement by brick vaulting topped by a thin layer of unreinforced concrete. Clearly, this floor would be liable to collapse in an earthquake. The adopted solution was to place Cintec anchors in both directions at the ends of the building with transverse tie-rods elsewhere. The anchors were fabricated from 25 mm (1 inch) stainless steel "Grip-Bar " and were 19 metres (62.5 ft) and 15 metres (49 ft) long.

In some locations, following removal of the flooring it was found that the floor was much shallower than originally measured, and too thin to drill safely. The anchors were able to be placed in a channel sawn in the floor, still managing to achieve the required bond with the brickwork and yield the composite action required. This installation modification was yet another demonstration of the versatility of the Cintec anchoring system.

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