Key Techniques In Model Experiment System For New-type Drag Anchors

There are two types of mooring system for deepwater platforms in present-day offshore engineering. Considering the applicability, economy and installation technics etc, one is the suction caisson anchors, which are penetrated by the manual subatmospheric pressure, the other is a new style of drag anchors, with another name called Vertically Loaded Anchor, which has high holding capacity and highly effectual performance as well as some other merits such as being lighter and less material-spending, being easily operated and stockpiled, having recuperability, and being repetitive-used, and so on. It has some obvious predominances for coorperating with the currently used new type of taut-wire mooring system in deepwater conditions.A special study was placed into the national"863"project in 2006 in order to research the key techniques about design and installation of VLA. The systemic and further study is put up in order to get breakthough and independent systemic and advanced achievements of the key techniques of VLAs'engineering application which consist of embedded anchor placement rule, the anchor conversion technology from draging to mooring, the optimized design of anchor configuration and the synthetically collocation etc. Model experiment has the unapproachable process compared with other methods, which is not only the theoretics research but also the essential base of the aftertime field experiment and engineering application.Until now, the datum about the model experiment is limited, and the experiment can not effectively simulate the actual offshore environment and seabed soil. The model experiment system of the new type drag anchor has been designed in this paper, which simulates the actual seabed soil, bases on certain design principle and model experimental experience. The design is composed of model flume, drag system, measurement system, and model anchors. The model experiment is carried out in order to grasp the embed rule of VLA and estimate the performance of this model experiment system according to some kinetic indexes of the drag-in anchors.