Large Deformation Finite Element Analysis of the Anchor Line Embedded in Seabed Soils

For most anchors in offshore engineering, such as the anchor pile and the drag anchor, the attachment point will generally be significantly below the seafloor surface, and therefore a portion of the anchor line will be deeply embedded in seabed soils. Complicated interaction happens between the anchor and the embedded anchor line, and the tension at the attachment point and the reverse catenary shape of embedded anchor line play a key role in assessing the capacity and reliability of the anchorage system. Previous investigations on the force distribution and the reverse catenary shape of embedded anchor line involve numerical incremental methods, closed-form theoretical expressions and laboratory tests. In the present work, a large deformation finite element analysis using the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian technique is developed to investigate the tension and profile of embedded anchor line. Parametric studies are performed to evaluate the effects of the shear strength of clay, depth of attachment point, diameter of embedded anchor line, self weight of soil, self weight of anchor line, and frictional coefficient between the embedded anchor line and soil. By comparing with theoretical and numerical integration solutions, the FEM simulation results are well verified. The present study demonstrates that the CEL technique is effective for simulating the anchor line-soil interactional problems.