An Investigation into the Soil Mechanics of Land Anchors

Prediction equations are developed and evaluated to estimate the maximum sustainable pull and the form of penetration of landd anchors. The theories for estimating the pattern of penetration and maximum sustainable anchor force compare well with the measured results in five contrasting soil conditions. The maximum and mean error between the predicted and measured maximum anchor force were 13% and 8%, respectively, representing an over-prediction of force in both cases. The correlation coefficient between the maximum anchor force and the mean values of soil shear strength, obtained using the cone index and shear vane were 0·86 and 0·85 respectively indicating that both the cone penetrometer and shear vane are valuable for in-field prediction of maximum anchor forces in both dry frictional and plastic clay soils.