The design of a dynamically installed reconfigurable anchor for floating offshore structures that improves accessibility to the renewable sector
Group Members
Peter Ballantine, Thomas Cross, Jan Dillenburger-Keenan, Jake Dolphin, Ahmed Elsebaie, Megan MartinSupporters
Professor Susan Gourvenec, Professor William PowrieRECONANCHOR is a dynamically installed reconfigurable multi-level plate anchor developed as a cost-effective anchoring solution for the floating offshore wind sector.
The anchor design allows for enhanced cost saving with a high holding capacity per installed mass. RECONANCHOR also has a large deployment weather window as well as a short installation time which reduces operational costs. The ability to know the exact final positioning of the anchor enhances reliability, and the scalability of the anchor allows for a site-specific tailored holding capacity. The design is aimed at deeper water conditions where the practicalities of floating offshore wind concepts are justified. These include a long freefall duration and soft fine-grained seabed deposits.
The design was systematically and iteratively progressed from concept level to final product. Initially a broad range of concepts were identified before being methodically condensed. The resulting concept was made up of the most promising ideas from this concentrated list. The entire life cycle of the anchor was considered from the manufacture and installation sequence to in-service performance and decommissioning. This involved an in-depth look at deployment vessel choice, hydrodynamics of freefall, geotechnical response to embedment, keying kinematics, operating performance, structural response at each stage, as well as lifespan and end-of-life.
The relatively high holding capacity, low cost, and low risk inherent in RECONANCHOR sets it apart from available anchoring systems and act as enablers to enhance accessibility to the offshore renewable sector. This is key in the global effort to reduce carbon emissions by developing more sustainable energies.
The anchor design allows for enhanced cost saving with a high holding capacity per installed mass. RECONANCHOR also has a large deployment weather window as well as a short installation time which reduces operational costs. The ability to know the exact final positioning of the anchor enhances reliability, and the scalability of the anchor allows for a site-specific tailored holding capacity. The design is aimed at deeper water conditions where the practicalities of floating offshore wind concepts are justified. These include a long freefall duration and soft fine-grained seabed deposits.
The design was systematically and iteratively progressed from concept level to final product. Initially a broad range of concepts were identified before being methodically condensed. The resulting concept was made up of the most promising ideas from this concentrated list. The entire life cycle of the anchor was considered from the manufacture and installation sequence to in-service performance and decommissioning. This involved an in-depth look at deployment vessel choice, hydrodynamics of freefall, geotechnical response to embedment, keying kinematics, operating performance, structural response at each stage, as well as lifespan and end-of-life.
The relatively high holding capacity, low cost, and low risk inherent in RECONANCHOR sets it apart from available anchoring systems and act as enablers to enhance accessibility to the offshore renewable sector. This is key in the global effort to reduce carbon emissions by developing more sustainable energies.
