Numerical Study of the Penetration Mechanism and Kinematic Behavior of Drag Anchors Using a Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian Approach

The fundamental properties of drag anchors such as the movement direction of the fluke, the drag angle and drag force at the shackle and the anchor trajectory in soils are closely relevant to the penetration mechanism and kinematic behavior of the drag anchor during installation. In the present work, a large deformation finite element analysis using a coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian approach is performed to simulate the installation process of drag anchors with different fluke sections. The method for determining the reasonable mesh density and drag velocity is proposed based on the investigation on dependency of the numerical results on the mesh density and drag velocity. Through a systematic comparative study between numerical and theoretical analysis, clear knowledge of the movement direction, the drag angle and drag force at the shackle, the anchor trajectory, the effect of anchor geometry and the ultimate embedment depth of the anchor is obtained, which is beneficial to fully understanding the complex behavior of drag anchors in soils.