Which statement best describes anchor angle practices to minimize load on anchors?

• A. Angles should never exceed 120 degrees
• B. Angles should be exactly 60 degrees
• C. Angles should always be 180 degrees
• D. Angles have no effect on safety

Answer: (A)

Anchor angle determines how the load is shared between two anchors. As the angle between the two legs grows, each leg (and thus each anchor) must carry more of the load. Keeping the angle under a practical limit helps keep those forces within what anchors can safely handle. The commonly taught limit is not to exceed 120 degrees, because beyond that the loads on the anchors rise quickly and risk failure. The other statements are not correct because a fixed angle like 60 degrees isn’t a universal safety rule you must always hit, 180 degrees would place the system in a configuration that can produce excessive loads, and saying angles have no effect contradicts how load is distributed across anchors.