Anchoring systems that can moor drilling rigs and floating facilities to the seabed are in increasing demand to meet the offshore oil, gas and renewable energy developments. This paper presents an overview of research work on anchoring systems aiming to optimise anchor design to achieve greater embedment depth and holding capacity. Based on plasticity models and embedded chain analysis, the factors governing anchor kinematics are presented. Optimisation of chain attachment point (padeye) is discussed to show its influence on anchor diving behaviour. Three types of anchors (i.e. SEPLA, OMNI-Max and DEPLA) are considered, showing their beneficial range of padeye position and providing insights to allow improvement of existing designs.
Yinghui Tian, Mark J. Cassidy and Mark F. Randolph
Keywords: Anchors, offshore engineering, diving, padeye offset
Publisher: DFI