Installation and inclined loading response of drag embedment anchors in sand and clay
Installation and inclined loading response of drag embedment anchors in sand and clay
Drag embedment anchors (DEAs) secure floating offshore structures by embedding into the seabed and offer high potential for upscaling, particularly in deeper offshore regions. However, the anchor load-displacement response is not fully understood. This study presents a series of centrifuge tests to model the installation and inclined loading behaviour of DEAs under an acceleration level of 100g. Steel-printed DEA models with fluke-shank angles of 32 and 45° were embedded into sand and clay samples by pulling the mooring line during centrifuge spinning, followed by unidirectional further inclined pulling. Pull loads were recorded continuously. Post-testing procedures included dissecting soil samples and conducting 3D scans, allowing approximations of the anchor trajectory. Results indicate that once the anchor reaches its maximum penetration depth, it stays in equilibrium provided that changes in the mooring line angle and the resulting vertical load component remain small so that motion is predominantly horizontal. Therefore, care must be taken when higher angles are considered in design. Moreover, consistent force-displacement profiles show that anchor force depends primarily on penetration depth rather than drag distance.
Duy Anh Dao; Anderson Peccin da Silva; Dirk De Lange; Suzanne Van Eekelen
11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG2026)
Session 6: Onshore and offshore foundation systems
https://doi.org/10.53243/ICPMG2026-190