The constant expansion of the offshore wind farm industry towards new markets has led to a number of challenges, one of which is the protection and maintenance of subsea power cables in a broader range of seabed conditions. The main hazard to these buried cables comes from vessel-deployed drag anchors, as pointed out by Carter (2010). Therefore, the assessment of the penetration depth of a drag anchor during its installation process is of paramount importance to determine the appropriate burial depth of such cables. This paper provides a comprehensive review of models of drag anchor behaviour by grouping them by area and providing an assessment of each model currently available.
Giuliano Pretti, William M. Coombs, Charles Augarde, Marc M. Puigvert, José A. R. Gutiérrez and Laurence Cross
Keywords: drag anchor, embedment depth, cable burial depth, anchor penetration
Publisher: DFI