The paper discusses the results of an experimental campaign carried out on different kind of anchors. Tri-axial shaking table tests were performed in order to study the seismic their behaviour for applications on concrete and masonry supports. Two cross-shaped structures were built at real scale, one with concrete walls and one as concrete frame with masonry infill panels. Two different conditions were investigated in the case of fasteners on concrete, namely uncracked and cracked support.

The tests were designed on the basis of US AC156 guidelines for the seismic certification of nonstructural components by shaking table tests. The experiments were performed at increasing PGA to study the effects induced at different seismic levels.

The results allowed the overall seismic behaviour of each fastiening element to be studied, especially in terms of maximum sustained acceleration, anchor slipping from support and failure mode. The influence of cracks on these parameters was also investigated. The test plan also allowed a complete comparison among different anchoring methodologies, such as mechanical, chemical and undercut fasteners.

An evaluation of the reduction factor to be applied to compute the seismic strength from the standard mechancial characterization complete the paper in combination with the actual design procedures for anchoring systems.