Prediction of Drag Anchor Trajectory With Both Shallow and Deep Anchor Behavior

Abstract

Abstract The uncertainty of drag anchor installation behavior is still an issue for drag anchor design. The existing method applying yield envelope for the anchor kinematic analysis ignored the shallow anchor behavior. Finite element analysis is conducted to study the shallow and deep anchor behavior under combined loading, which are characterized by yield envelopes for the kinematic analysis of anchor installation behavior. The impact of yield envelopes and shallow anchor behavior on the anchor kinematic performance is investigated. It is found that the largest difference in the predicted results such as anchor embedment depth using existing yield envelopes based on deep anchor behavior alone is about 43%. When shallow anchor behavior is considered, significant difference is shown. The predicted embedment depth taking account of shallow anchor behavior is shallower than that using only yield envelope for deep anchor behavior. The kinematic parameters are significantly influenced by the shallow anchor behavior. The current research improves the application of the yield envelope approach for drag anchor design and considers the influence of shallow anchor as well as deep anchor behavior on the anchor kinematic performance.