Water Anchors With Slidable Bridle For Dynamic Mooring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional anchors are inefficient in dynamic water conditions, such as tidal areas, due to the need for multiple flukes and large swinging circles, and are impractical for taut-line moorings like navigation buoys, often requiring permanent installations that can become hazards.
Innovation Solution
An anchor apparatus with slideable anchor bridle and oppositely disposed anchoring formations, such as fluted claws, that allow progressive penetration into the seabed with alternate directional pulling, reducing the need for multiple flukes and enabling secure anchoring at steep angles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional anchors with multiple flukes are used in tidal areas, then the anchor can work in reversing flow directions, but the device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The anchor is divided into two separate single-fluke anchors sharing a common shank, with each fluke oriented to engage the seabed in opposite directions. This segmentation allows the anchor to adapt to reversing tidal flows without requiring a complex multi-fluke design, as only one fluke engages at a time depending on flow direction.
Solution Approach 2:
The common shank serves multiple functions: it provides the structural backbone for both flukes, houses the bridle attachment mechanism, and enables the anchor to function effectively in both tidal flow directions. This multi-functionality reduces overall device complexity while maintaining adaptability.
2Reliability
If conventional anchors use long cable lengths to maintain shallow angles, then the anchor can be pulled securely into the seabed, but the swinging circle radius becomes excessively large
Solution Approach 1:
The bridle attachment mechanism allows the anchor to dynamically adjust its orientation and engagement angle with the seabed. As the anchor is dragged and flipped into engagement, the bridle geometry changes to maintain optimal pulling angles without requiring excessively long cable lengths, thereby reducing the swinging circle radius.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchor system changes the critical parameter of cable-to-seabed angle dynamically during deployment. Instead of maintaining a fixed shallow angle throughout, the angle evolves from a steeper initial drag phase to an optimized engagement phase, allowing secure purchase with shorter cable lengths and smaller swinging circles.
3Measurement precision
If permanent concrete blocks are used for taut-line moorings, then accurate positioning is achieved, but the objects become difficult to retrieve and pose shipping hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The anchor is designed as a temporary, retrievable mooring solution rather than a permanent installation. It can be deployed and recovered as needed, avoiding the shipping hazards and retrieval difficulties associated with permanent concrete blocks, while still providing accurate positioning during its service life.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchor system is designed for easy recovery and potential reuse. After serving its mooring function, the anchor can be retrieved from the seabed and redeployed elsewhere, eliminating the need for permanent installations and reducing maritime hazards from abandoned mooring objects.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The anchor achieves accurate and secure positioning with a smaller swinging circle, reduced cost, and minimal redundancy, suitable for dynamic water conditions and taut-line moorings, while maintaining ease of recovery and minimizing hazards to other vessels.
Implementation Method 1
the anchor can be pulled in one direction whereby to permit one of the oppositely disposed anchoring formations to penetrate the sea bed
Implementation Method 2
when the anchor is dragged along at a very shallow angle by a correspondingly long length of cable or chain
Data Source
AI summary
Anchor apparatus (1) including an anchor (2) and a slideable anchor bridle (3), the anchor having a lower part or body portion with oppositely disposed anchoring formations (6a,6b) extending therefrom and an upper part including bridle attachment means in the form of at least two parallel bridle rails extending above and between the oppositely disposed anchoring formations (7,8), limbs (4,5) of the anchor bridle being slideably attached, in use, to respective bridle rails (7,8), the arrangement being such that when deployed, the anchor can be pulled in one direction whereby to permit one of the oppositely disposed anchoring formations to penetrate the sea bed and whereafter if and when the anchor is pulled in the opposite direction after the bridle limbs have slid along the bridle rails, the other of the oppositely disposed anchoring formations also penetrates the seabed, whereafter the anchor can continue to be pulled in successively alternate directions via the bridle to penetrate progressively further into the sea bed until firmly fixed therein.