Uplift response of multi-plate helical anchors in cohesive soil

Abstract

The use of helical anchors has been extensively beyond their traditional use in the electrical power industry in recent years. They are commonly used in more traditional civil engineering infrastructure applications so that the advantages of rapid installation and immediate loading capability. The majority of the research has been directed toward the tensile uplift behaviour of single anchors (only one plate) by far. However, anchors commonly have more than one plate. Moreover, no thorough numerical and experimental analyses have been performed to determine the ultimate pullout loads of multi-plate anchors. The understanding of behavior of these anchors is unsatisfactory and the existing design methods have shown to be largely inappropriate and inadequate for a framework adopted by engineers. So, a better understanding of helical anchor behavior will lead to increased confidence in design, a wider acceptance as a foundation alternative, and more economic and safer designs. The main aim of this research is to use numerical modeling techniques to better understand multi-plate helical anchor foundation behavior in soft clay soils. Experimental and numerical investigations into the uplift capacity of helical anchor in soft clay have been conducted in this study. A total of 6 laboratory tests were carried out using helical anchor plate with a diameter of 0.05 m. The results of physical and computational studies investigating the uplift response of helical anchors in soft clay show that maximum resistances depend on anchor embedment ratio and anchor spacing ratio S/D. Agreement between uplift capacities from laboratory tests and finite element modelling using PLAXIS is excellent for anchors up to embedment ratios of 6.