GOALI/Collaborative Research: Novel and Efficient Seabed Ring Anchor for Omnidirectional Loading

这项学术与工业联络资助项目（GOALI）将支持一个研究团队开发多线环锚在风、浪和其他力作用下的载荷模型。多线环锚（MRA）是一种被设计为深埋在近海土壤中的环形锚，用于锚定多个浮动平台。风能、波浪能和水产养殖部门海上开发的增加需要多个紧密间隔的名义上相同的平台，这些平台需要这种类型的全方位锚。这种新颖的配置与典型的油气安装有很大的不同，可以考虑在多个平台之间共享锚，从而大大降低了资金、材料、制造和安装成本以及持续时间。研究团队之前进行的基于仿真的研究表明，这一概念是可行的，但要真正发挥多缆锚固的优势，需要新颖的锚固设计，既要安装迅速、成本低廉，又要具备全方位的能力和抗循环载荷能力。为了实现这一目标，研究小组将开发风、浪和其他力对锚的载荷的模型；进行缩小尺寸的离心机测试，以提供MRA系统在这些负载下的行为数据；并建立数值模型来评估锚杆在多种加载情况下的性能。该研究项目包括与行业合作伙伴Vryhof Anchors的合作，以确保结果受行业需求的驱动，并能够迅速推进行业驱动的技术发展。为了证明MRA的概念验证，计划了一系列研究任务，将量化风、浪和水产养殖平台施加在锚上的随机和时变载荷。此外，该团队将基于有限元和塑性极限分析开发概念性MRA设计，并通过包括离心机测试在内的一系列方法评估MRA在砂和粘土条件下的适用性。这些任务将使嵌入式锚对循环和方向变化载荷的响应的基本理解得以发展。该团队将为实际安装提供系统评估，这将为MRA进一步的演示规模研究提供动力。在理解相互连接的海上系统的动力学以及在不同类型的土壤中深埋锚对复杂载荷的响应方面的基本进展构成了知识价值的核心。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) project will support a research team to develop models for the loading placed on multiline ring anchors subjected to wind, waves and other forces. A Multiline Ring Anchor (MRA) is a ring-shaped anchor designed to be deeply embedded in offshore soils for the purposes of anchoring multiple floating platforms. The increase in offshore development in the wind energy, wave energy and aquaculture sectors requires multiple closely spaced nominally identical platforms that need this type of omni-directional anchor. This novel configuration differs substantially from the typical oil and gas installation and allows consideration of sharing anchors among multiple platforms, thereby driving down capital, material, fabrication and installation costs and duration significantly. Previous simulation-based research conducted by the research team has shown that this concept is feasible but that truly leveraging the advantages of multiline anchoring will require novel anchor designs that can be installed quickly and inexpensively and that also deliver omni-directional capacity and resistance to cyclic loading. To achieve this, the research team will develop models for the loading placed on the anchors from wind, waves and other forces; perform reduced-scale centrifuge tests to provide data on the behavior of MRA systems under these loads; and develop numerical models to assess the behavior of the anchors under multiple loading scenarios. This research project includes a collaboration with an industrial partner, Vryhof Anchors, to ensure that results are driven by the needs of industry and can move rapidly to further industry-driven technology development.In order to demonstrate proof-of-concept for the MRA, a series of research tasks are planned that will quantify stochastic and time-varying loads placed on the anchor by wind, wave and aquaculture platforms. Additionally, the team will develop conceptual MRA designs based on finite element and plastic limit analysis and assess the suitability of the MRA for sand and clay conditions by a range of methods including centrifuge testing. These tasks will enable the development of fundamental understanding of the response of embedded anchors to cyclic and directionally varying loading. The team will deliver a system evaluation for realistic installations that will provide the impetus for further demonstration-scale research into the MRA. Fundamental advances in understanding the dynamics of interconnected offshore systems as well as the response of deeply embedded anchors in different types of soil to complex loading form the core of the intellectual merit.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.