Pullout Capacity of Strip Anchors in Spatially Variable Soil. II: Sand

TY - JOUR

T1 - Pullout Capacity of Strip Anchors in Spatially Variable Soil. II

T2 - Sand

AU - He, Pengpeng

AU - Fenton, Gordon A.

AU - Griffiths, D. V.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.

PY - 2024/11

Y1 - 2024/11

N2 - Plate anchors have been recognized as an attractive option for floating offshore structures due to their low cost and high effectiveness. The prediction of anchor pullout capacity often assumes a homogeneous sand with uniform properties over the entire soil mass. However, natural soils typically exhibit significant spatial variability due to their geological history of soil formation. To account for this inherent spatial variability, this paper has proposed an analytical approach to probabilistically estimate the pullout capacity of strip plate anchors in sand. The soil friction angle was represented by a random field, and the first two moments and the probability density function of the anchor breakout factor were determined analytically using a local average theory. The proposed analytical approach was validated by the random finite-element method (RFEM) over a wide range of soil and anchor parameters. The findings suggest that the anchor embedment depth ratio has a limited effect on the estimated anchor failure probability, whereas the coefficient of variation and correlation length of the soil friction angle have a significant influence. This confirms the importance of sufficient site investigation for cost-effective and reliable anchor design. Overall, the proposed analytical framework can be regarded as a reliable and practical alternative to the computationally intensive RFEM.

AB - Plate anchors have been recognized as an attractive option for floating offshore structures due to their low cost and high effectiveness. The prediction of anchor pullout capacity often assumes a homogeneous sand with uniform properties over the entire soil mass. However, natural soils typically exhibit significant spatial variability due to their geological history of soil formation. To account for this inherent spatial variability, this paper has proposed an analytical approach to probabilistically estimate the pullout capacity of strip plate anchors in sand. The soil friction angle was represented by a random field, and the first two moments and the probability density function of the anchor breakout factor were determined analytically using a local average theory. The proposed analytical approach was validated by the random finite-element method (RFEM) over a wide range of soil and anchor parameters. The findings suggest that the anchor embedment depth ratio has a limited effect on the estimated anchor failure probability, whereas the coefficient of variation and correlation length of the soil friction angle have a significant influence. This confirms the importance of sufficient site investigation for cost-effective and reliable anchor design. Overall, the proposed analytical framework can be regarded as a reliable and practical alternative to the computationally intensive RFEM.

KW - Plate anchor

KW - Probabilistic analysis

KW - Pullout capacity

KW - Sand

KW - Spatial variability

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85202355333

U2 - 10.1061/JGGEFK.GTENG-12575

DO - 10.1061/JGGEFK.GTENG-12575

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85202355333

SN - 1090-0241

VL - 150

JO - Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering

JF - Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering

IS - 11

ER -