## 4 Results and Discussion
### Tests in Close-to-Real Conditions
#### 4.3.2 Long-Term Studies of Prototype Anchors  
The short-time strength of a polymeric construction is a very general indicator of the material quality and is insufficient for the constructor to make the right choice and carry out construction design calculations. In reality, a construction is subject to long-term loads and very often also live loads of a cyclic nature. Under such conditions, the strength properties of construction composites are different than in the case of short-lived and individual loads. There are deformations caused by creeping and the material damage takes place at lower stresses. The application potential of the composites in the production of building wall cladding anchors was tested by producing anchor prototypes from epoxy resin filled with basalt powder (EP/BP). In the anchor production (Figures 19 and 20), the simplest technology was used to prepare anchor castings made at room temperature and under the atmospheric pressure in silicon moulds. After casting, the anchors were in the mould for 24 h to facilitate cross-linking in the material and next they were cured under atmospheric conditions. The studies on long-term fixing were carried out within the project entitled \"Insulation anchors for fastening heavy building elevation cladding\" as part of the competition TRL+ and with the company \"Innovation incubator +\" of the non-competitive project \"Supporting scientific research management and commercialization of B+R work results in scientific institutions and companies\" realised within the Smart Growth Operational Programme, 2014-2020. The anchors were tested in natural conditions on the premises of the campus of Cracow University of Technology from 11 June 2018 to 24 September 2018 (106 days). The anchors were fixed in a brick wall using epoxy resin-based glue [26]. The experiment involved remote measurement of displacement, anchor temperature changes and deformations on the top and bottom anchor surfaces. The measurements were carried out using an automated data collection system with a remote access measurement platform. During the first experiment day, measurements were taken every minute and later every 15 min. On the site, four granite panels were installed and supported by eight prototype anchors. Every panel weighed about 23.5 kg and was supported by two composite anchors (at the bottom panel edge) and stabilised by two steel anchors (Figure 20). Monitoring focused on dislocations of each composite anchor and deformation changes of one of the two anchors supporting each panel. Displacement measurements were carried out using vibrating wire strain gauges NEOSTRAIN GEOON 4422, while deformation changes were recorded using  
Figure 20: Experimental site for anchorage tests with measuring equipment prepared for hanging elevation panels: (1) load-bearing wall, (2) composite anchor, (3) measuring equipment. In the experiment, the composite anchors were subjected to continuous load--mainly due to the granite panel own weight, variable environmental loads in the form of wind pushing/sucking, and variable temperature loads. The stresses in the anchors did not exceed 25% of the short-term strength of the composite material. As a result of the sustained load, the anchors bent initially by about 0.50 mm. The bending arrow was variably increasing during the test. In the first phase, lasting about 10 h, the bending arrow reached an average value of 1 mm (increase by 100%), in the next 24 h it rose by 10% up to 1.1 mm, and at the end of the study after 105 days it was 2.59 mm. Such a substantial increase in the bending arrow during the experiment was caused by rheological processes taking place in the composite material of the anchor connected to the loading time and temperature load. During the measurements, despite shadowing of the composite anchors situated under the cladding panels, the temperatures recorded on the anchor surface were in the range from 8.4 to 34.5 \({}^{\circ}\)C. The temperature changes had a strong influence on the deformations, and, in consequence, on anchor bending.