NEW EXPEDIENT ANCHORS IN FLEET APPLICATIONS

Abstract

ABSTRACTFleet mooring needs most commonly are satisfied with conventional drag‐burial anchors and chain. Conventional anchor moorings are costly and require substantial installation support. Replacement every five to 10 years of hundreds of such moorings is a significant burden to the Navy. At adverse sites, where conventional anchors do not function effectively, even more costly and burdensome means such as piles are employed to satisfy needs. Construction and salvage mooring means are similarly deficient.A new type of anchor, embedded by being shot into the seafloor, is an attractive alternative. The capability to be installed and set rapdily from a single, dynamically‐positioned craft or ship reduces installation support needs by up to fifty percent, and the capability to resist uplift loads reduces the size and cost of mooring legs by a similar amount. The capability to function in adverse seafloors, such as coral, hardpan, and rock, permits the use of these anchors as replacements for piles. Hence, substantial savings in cost and Fleet assets may be realized.Six propellant‐embedded anchors have been developed at the Navy's Civil Engineering Laboratory (CEL). The operating principle of these anchors is the same. However, their configurations, sizes, performance capabilities, and operational characteristics differ. This paper discusses and describes these anchors, their characteristics, and their past, planned, and projected uses by the Navy.