Experimental and Numerical Study On the Dragged Anchor–Trenchless Rock Berm Interaction

Physical protection of nearshore pipelines from marine life, ocean waves, and shipping activities is of critical importance in offshore engineering to guarantee reliable transition of energy. Mechanical damages such as buckling, dent, and cracks generated due to anchor-hooking threaten pipeline stability and need to be addressed from both engineering and scientific perspectives. In this study, we conduct a series of experimental and numerical simulations to investigate the interaction between an anchor and a trenchless rock berm constructed on soft saturated seabed, while the pipeline is laid in the berm. The experiments are performed in 1[Formula: see text]g tank, and the numerical tests are simulated with Coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) finite element method. This study extends the available soil passive force formulation for the interaction of anchor–soil and compared its results with the numerical and experimental results. There is good agreement between the predictions of the numerical model and the experimental results. In addition, our work extends the available approaches to estimate soil passive forces for a dragged anchor. The stiffness of seabed and rock berm is important in the design of rock berm.