Abstract
Future MRE facilities will involve arrays of MRE devices that connect and will transmit loads to the seafloor via mooring and anchoring systems. It is essential to have a reliable estimation of the capacity that the anchor can provide for the variety of loads that are transmitted via the mooring lines to the anchoring system. In soft soils, this capacity can evolve with time due to the sustained loads and variable components of the cyclic uplift loads, which vary due to sea state, season, and the operational requirements of the connected MRE system. This study presents and discusses ‘hidden’ anchor capacity enhancements from modelling beneficial effects including (i) ‘whole-life’ changing seabed soil strength, (ii) viscous soil strength and (iii) added soil mass effects, which are absent in conventional geotechnical foundation design. It will show how these effects can be integrated into a coupled anchor-mooring model which provides a new basis for assessing through-life changes in geotechnical anchor capacity and enables a better understanding of the fully coupled soil-anchoring-mooring behaviour of MRE infrastructure over its operational lifetime.