Soil Resistances to Embedded Anchor Chain in Soft Clay

Abstract

This paper presents a method to calculate the chain tension at the anchor point and the chain configuration inside the soil for an anchoring system consisting of a pile with an embedded connection between the anchor pile and the mooring chain. Employing the incremental‐integration technique, the equilibrium equations of the embedded chain are derived and a solution procedure is proposed. In the mathematical model, the soil resistances to the chain are calculated on the basis of available soil models for estimating the bearing and sliding resistances on a strip foundation in clay. The effective widths of the chain to be used in the calculation of soil resistances in bearing and friction have been determined from a number of laboratory tests carried out on 6.4 mm, 9.5 mm, and 16 mm chains in soft clay, and a recommendation is made in this respect. A practical application of the method demonstrates the optimization of the design that can be obtained.