Verification of Shore Pull Anchor Pile Designed Using Simplified Method

Abstract

Shore pull anchor piles, which have been proven to be effective during pipeline installation, are designed using simplified method and basic structural analysis software in accordance with API RP-2GEO. This method simplifies the interaction between soil and pile using a series of non-linear soil springs along the pile shaft. In this paper, this simplified method is validated by using a refined finite element model and software which captures the soil and structural member interaction behaviours more accurately. The actual project site soil data is used in this paper for the validation. It is proven that the simplified method is capable of considering both geotechnical and structural capacities of the anchor pile and yields a design that is slightly conservative. Additionally, the simplified method is cost effective with regard to the analysis time and software cost. Parametric study such as soil stiffness and pile group effect are carried out to evaluate this simplified method and provide a guidance for the future design.