Uplift bearing capacity of plate anchor foundation in sand

Abstract:

Reliable estimation of the uplift bearing capacity of plate anchor in sand is significant for predicting the mooring stability of floating renewable energy devices on the sea. On the basis of two-dimensional finite element method, a modified Mohr-Coulomb (MMC) constitutive model was employed to simulate the strain softening behavior of medium dense and dense sand, and the corresponding user subroutine was developed to examine the uplift bearing capacity of strip plate anchor foundation in sand. The rationality of the finite element model was verified by comparison of theoretical solutions and other centrifuge tests results. Through a series of parametric studies, results show that the embedded depth of plate anchor had great influence on the uplift bearing capacity of the plate, and the bearing capacity factor at H/B=10 was 273% higher than that at H/B=1. The larger the relative density of sand was, the larger the uplift bearing capacity was. Compared with loose sand (D_r<33%), the bearing capacity factor of plate in dense sand (D_r=100%) increased by 25%. The frictional factor of plate anchor had little effect on the uplift bearing capacity factor. On the basis of the numerical simulation results, a corrected formula of uplift bearing capacity factor of plate anchor at different depths in medium dense and dense sand was proposed, which provides a theoretical basis for the application of plate anchor foundations in medium dense and dense sand.