Mooring Anchor With Tilted Support For Lateral Force Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mooring anchors face challenges in securing a firm installation without relying on tensile resistance against upward tensile forces, especially in varying water bottom environments and with short mooring lines, which can lead to mooring line breakage or impact.
Innovation Solution
A mooring anchor system featuring an anchor assembly with a pile drivable into the water bottom and a tilted support extending obliquely downward, combined with a guide that holds the mooring line in a movable manner along the water bottom, allowing the anchor assembly to withstand tensile forces without relying on upward tensile resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a heavy anchor is installed to receive upward tensile forces, then tensile resistance is improved, but installation difficulty increases in varying water bottom environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the force resistance direction from vertical (upward tensile force) to horizontal (lateral tensile force along the water bottom). The tilted support extends obliquely downward and transfers the upward pull into lateral force along the water bottom, where the anchor assembly has high resistance due to friction and embedding. This dimensional transformation resolves the contradiction by making the anchor effective in varying bottom conditions without requiring complex installation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a sinker is added between anchor and mooring target, then impact on mooring line is reduced, but the sinker moves upward under tensile force and does not provide sufficient stabilization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the force resistance function into two parts: the guide handles the mooring line guidance and movable holding, while the tilted support handles the force transformation and anchor stabilization. This segmentation allows each component to specialize, making the overall system more reliable than a single sinker component that attempts to handle all functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The tilted support acts as an intermediary between the anchor assembly and the mooring line tension. It transforms the upward tensile force into lateral force along the water bottom, mediating the interaction between the vertical pull and the horizontal resistance provided by the embedded anchor. This intermediary mechanism provides reliable stabilization that a simple sinker cannot achieve.
3Ease of manufacture
If the anchor relies on tensile resistance against upward force, then installation simplicity is maintained, but firm installation cannot be achieved in varying water bottom profiles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of force direction from vertical to horizontal. By transforming the upward tensile force into lateral force along the water bottom through the tilted support, the system achieves firm installation in varying bottom profiles. The anchor assembly gains high lateral resistance through friction and embedding, which is more reliable than vertical tensile resistance in diverse conditions, while maintaining installation simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
For firm installation at a water bottom, a mooring anchor for securing a basal end of a mooring line underwater includes an anchor assembly to which the mooring line is to be fastened, and installable at a water bottom, and a guide to be secured at the water bottom at a position away from the anchor assembly and including a holder to receive and hold the mooring line in a movable manner. The anchor assembly includes a pile drivable into the water bottom and a tilted support extending obliquely downward toward the guide at the water bottom and to be embedded in the water bottom, such that the tilted support withstands and overcomes a tensile force acting in a horizontal direction.