Experimental investigation of the keying process of OMNI-Max anchor

ABSTRACT

The OMNI-Max anchors are newly developed dynamically installed anchors for deep water mooring systems. After installation, the anchor is keyed to a new orientation and position by tensing the attached mooring chain, which is known as the “keying process”. This study conducted 1g model tests to study the trajectories and capacity developments of OMNI-Max anchors in homogeneous and lightly overconsolidated (LOC) clays. A testing arrangement was designed to simulate the anchor keying process with a constant pullout angle at the mudline. A half model anchor which could move against the box glass was used to determine the anchor trajectory in the soil. The effects of padeye offset angle, uplift angle at the mudline, anchor fluke thickness, anchor initial embedment depth, and soil strength on the anchor trajectory and capacity were systematically investigated. Moreover, the critical uplift angle at the padeye and the anchor critical initial embedment depth were discussed. The results indicate that the anchor can dive both in homogeneous and LOC clays under certain conditions. A padeye offset angle of 24–30° is recommended for the OMNI-Max anchor to maintain high capacity and diving trend simultaneously. Besides, the anchor diving trend can be improved with small uplift angles at the mudline and with thick anchor flukes. A critical initial embedment depth of 1.3 times the anchor length is recommended to preclude the anchor from being pulled out.