Undrained capacity of piggy-backed drag embedment anchors under out-of-plane cyclic loading
Undrained capacity of piggy-backed drag embedment anchors under out-of-plane cyclic loading
The drag embedment anchor is one of the most commonly used anchor types for the mooring systems of offshore floating structures. For the purpose of further enhancing the anchor efficiency, the piggy-backed anchors, connecting two drag embedment anchors in series, are evaluated in this study. This study presents the kinematic behaviors of two kinds of piggy-backed anchors in clay through laboratory experiments, including embedment tests and pull-out tests. The tests results, including anchor trajectory, incline angles and capacity, show that the piggy-backed anchors that the back of the front anchor's fluke is connected to the padeye of the rear anchor with a spacing of two fluke lengths exhibit the best capacity and rapid load response speed when subjected to in-plane and out-of-plane loads.
Han Wu; Ying Lai; Bin Zhu
11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG2026)
Session 6: Onshore and offshore foundation systems
https://doi.org/10.53243/ICPMG2026-172