Experimental Investigation on Behavior of Single-Helix Anchor in Sand Subjected to Uplift Cyclic Loading

Abstract

Helical anchors have been widely used in geotechnical engineering due to their large uplift resistance. However, the current knowledge of the cyclic performance of helical anchors is still insufficient. Consequently, a series of small-scale model tests are carried out in sand to investigate the influences of embedment ratio, sand compactness and the cyclic parameters on the monotonic, cyclic and post-cyclic performance of single-helix anchors. The tests results indicate that the single-helix anchors with optimal embedment ratio still exhibit a relatively high uplift capacity after suffering cyclic load. The cyclic frequency has the greatest influence on the accumulated displacement, and the influence of amplitude is relatively greater than that of the mean cyclic load. The anchors in dense sand exhibit better performance to resist pullout than those in medium–dense sand under the same cyclic parameter ratios. Moreover, the correlation of post-cyclic uplift capacity and displacement after cyclic loading as well as the possible influence of the upward displacement on the sand flow above the helix are discussed.

Keywords

• helical anchor
• sand compactness
• embedment ratio
• cyclic uplift response
• post-cyclic monotonic uplift capacity