Centrifuge modelling of drag embedment anchors subjected to inclined loading for floating wind

With the ever-increasing need for renewable energy capacity to replace existing fossil fuel technologies, there has been an increase in the number of proposals to harness the environmental energy located in water depths too deep for fixed foundation solutions. A push to utilise floating platforms as bases for floating wind turbines and photovoltaic convertors has occurred in the last few years, although as of yet there has been no consensus regarding the type of mooring that will be used to ensure station keeping of the floating platform. One potential foundation solution is the use of high performance drag embedment anchors, which have been widely used by the oil and gas industry. To limit the footprint of the mooring solution the loading angle of the DEAs may be at a higher inclination than they have been previously tested at. This paper investigates the kinematic and load displacement behaviour of an ultra-high performance anchor design under inclined loading through centrifuge scale model testing in sands. This study also utilises a novel wireless anchor tracking system developed at the University of Dundee to record the position of the anchor continuously throughout the experiments whilst buried.