Developing an integrated modelling approach for anchor-line system




Developing an integrated modelling approach for anchor-line system


Offshore mooring systems are critical for station-keeping of floating structures and typically comprise mooring lines and anchors embedded in the seabed. Current design guidelines often simplify the analysis by treating the mooring line segments in water, the embedded anchors and chains as separate systems. While these simplifications can reduce computational complexity, they may overlook the coupled interactions between components, leading to inaccuracies in predicting the overall system behavior. This paper introduces an integrated modelling approach for analysing the anchor-line system, implemented within the finite element package, named as UoMMoor. The approach employs macroelement models to represent the interactions between the chain and surrounding soil, as well as the behavior of the embedded anchor. These macroelements encapsulate complex soil-structure interactions, allowing for computational efficiency while maintaining predictive accuracy. To validate the proposed method, a case study simulating the installation process of a drag embedment anchor is presented. The results highlight the method's capability to model complex anchor-soil and chain-soil interactions in three-dimensional space, offering a more comprehensive and realistic framework for designing offshore mooring systems in deep water.



Wenlong Liu; Yinghui Tian; Mark Jason Cassidy; Q. Yang


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



15 - Mooring lines, Cables, Pipelines, Immersed tunnels and Risers



https://doi.org/10.53243/ISFOG2025-242