Field Testing of Suction Embedded Plate Anchors

Results of full and reduced scale onshore and offshore testing of a new vertical load capable anchor type, the Suction Embedded Plate Anchor or SEPLA is presented in this paper. The SEPLA plate anchor is unique in that it uses a modified suction pile, renamed a suction follower, to install the plate anchor directly to final penetration depth in lieu of less precise drag embedment methods. The follower is immediately retracted once the plate anchor is brought to design soil depth and can be used to install additional plate anchors indefinitely. Although early research including laboratory and quarter-scale field testing will be discussed; the focus of this paper will be the results of full-scale offshore and 1/5th-scale onshore testing conducted between 1999 and 2001.