Abstract
High efficient anchors are increasing demanded to moor floating structures with oil and gas and renewable energy developments move into deeper water. One effective way to increase efficiency is by maximizing the bearing area of the anchor during operation. Along this line of design, a new high efficiency plate anchor composed of two pieces of fluke plates, which are expandable after installation under preloading, is proposed in this paper. The keying process plays a significant role in the anchor's bearing performance. To gain insights into the keying process and optimize the geometry design of this anchor, a series of Large Deformation Finite Element (LDFE) analyses are carried out. From the comprehensive LDFE analysis, this proposed anchor with optimal padeye eccentricity has lower loss of embedment compared with traditional upright anchor and the accompanying higher holding capacity. Besides, the newly proposed expandable anchor also has a much stiffer response, the anchor can bear 3 times the keying load (proof loading) without losing much embedment during operation stage. This has an important implication for saving offshore cost, where the proposed anchor could be keyed using small vessel with limited winch capacity.
Published Version
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