Offshore anchor piles under mooring forces: centrifuge modeling

Abstract

Offshore anchor piles are seafloor moorings that keep the position of floating structures during a harsh environment. These piles are usually subjected to a wide range of monotonic and cyclic lateral-to-oblique pullout forces. Centrifuge tests were carried out to study the behavior of offshore anchor piles under mooring forces in saturated dense sand. The tests were carried out at different loading angles. All piles were jacked into the sand bed in-flight. The pile models were instrumented with strain gauges. Bending moment, soil pressure, and pile lateral deflection profiles are presented and discussed. It was found that there is a significant interaction between both tension and lateral loading. This interaction should be considered in the design of offshore anchor piles.