Experimental evaluation of the effect of pullout velocity on the behavior of multi-plate anchors

Abstract

The determination of the pullout capacity of anchors has been a key point of offshore and onshore applications, considering factors such as the shape, size, penetration velocities, and pull-out velocities of the anchors. Multi-plate expandable anchors can be considered as an alternative that exhibits higher capacity compared to single plate anchors. While previous studies have demonstrated the influence of penetration velocity, there is a lack of research investigating the pullout capacity of multi-plate expandable anchors. In the present study, experimental tests were conducted to investigate the effect of various pull-out velocities. Different soil relative densities and the distance between anchors were examined in the laboratory tests. The study also employed two analytical methods—constant control volume and movement control volume—to investigate the results of pull-out velocity. In addition, the Discrete Element Method (DEM) was used to analyze the effect of particle shape on the results. In the experimental tests, the findings suggest that increasing the pull-out velocity from 10 to 30 mm/min improved the pullout capacity of anchors and the optimal distance between plate anchors was determined to be 1B. The DEM findings showed that the sharp-cornered shape had good agreement with experimental results.