A Practical Numerical Model of Embedded Mooring Chains in Clayey Soils

Interactions between mooring chains and the seabed are crucial in the estimation of the capacities of mooring anchors for floating facilities in deep water. This paper presents a computationally efficient numerical approach to simulate the chain cutting through soil under the tension load. Following verification against analytical solutions, a more sophisticated model is implemented using the numerical approach, enabling more accurate determination of soil resistances based on mobilized displacements in both the normal and tangential directions of the chain. The variation in the mobilized friction along the chain as it cuts through the soil is presented, and the equivalent friction coefficient for use in the simple analytical solution is also studied.