Behaviour of a Reverse T-shape Anchor Subjected to Horizontal Loading in Sand

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Drag or suction embedded plate anchors are widely recognised as an efficient anchoring solution for mooring offshore floating wind turbines, wave energy converters, solar panels, and aquaculture cages. This paper reports the performance of a reverse T-shape plate anchor concept in sand. Two series of tests were conducted on half- and full-model anchors in a centrifuge facility. The model anchors were pre-embedded at depths of 1.3 and 1.6 times the width of the plates in flat and 20° sloped sand deposits. A horizontal load was then applied at a height of 0.5 times the width of the plates from the soil surface.

Half-anchor tests, conducted against a window, allowed two cameras to capture soil deformation images which were subsequently quantified by particle image velocimetry analyses. Full-anchor tests, carried out inside the soil samples, were used to verify the load-displacement response from the half-anchor tests. From the combined set of experiments, displacement vectors and incremental shear strain contours were plotted linking directly to the critical points on the resistance profiles: (i) a first peak in the load-displacement response was associated predominantly with the rotational movement of the square plate (ii) a second peak, with magnitudes ranging from 2 to 3 times of that at the first peak, was associated with the plate and shaft being uplifted and translated. These observations will allow for the development of analytical solutions and mechanism-based design approaches for assessing capacity under horizontal loading.

5th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics (ISFOG2025)

12 - Gravity base foundations, Drag and Plate Anchors