Test 6 (7 Feb 73) 



This test was also performed at the SEACON I 

 site in 550 feet of water. The fluke used did not have 

 linkage; the down-haul cable went direcdy to the 

 eccentric connection point. This technique, if it 

 worked, would reduce the fluke/piston cost by about 

 50%. Load was applied to the anchor by taking 

 successive purchases with the salvage vessel's beach 

 gear leg. The fluke pulled out with practically no 

 load. The piston did not eject from its receptacle, 

 thereby preventing keying of the fluke. This con- 

 nection technique still appeared promising provided 

 the height of the piston receptacle could be reduced 

 to allow the piston to freely dislodge during keying. 

 Predicted gun barrel pressure was 14,500 psi; actual 

 was 16,600 psi. 



Test 7 (7 Feb 1973) 



This test was performed in 900 feet of water. The 

 1-1/2 X 3-foot sand fluke with linkage was used with 

 a 3.25-pound charge. The anchor fired on bottom 

 contact, embedding 20 feet. Gun barrel pressure was 

 not recorded; the copper crush gages placed in the 

 cartridge were lost during firing. The maximum load 

 recorded during pullout was 20,000 pounds. The 

 anchor pulled out while resetting the beach gear leg. 

 The actual pullout load could have been somewhat 

 larger than the recorded load. In future tests, the 

 anchor should be pulled by ship's power to provide 

 more control. Total penetration of the fluke was 42 

 feet after keying. 



Test 8 (7 Feb 73) 



This test was performed at the GEL 1,200-foot 

 site using the 2-1/2 x 5-foot clay fluke with a 

 2.75-pound charge; the anchor fired properly. 

 Loading procedure first involved removing the slack 

 from the main line by taking up with the wing drum 

 slowly. By mistake, line was taken in until the wing 

 drum stalled, and the line was stoppered off. Stalling 

 load on the winch was 30,000 pounds; ship motion 

 could exaggerate this load considerably. Next, the 

 load cell was attached, and the ship was backed down 

 to pull the anchor out. Actual measured load was 

 17,000 pounds, but the load could have been 



anywhere from 17,000 to 40,000 pounds. There was 

 about a 10-kip surge effect. There was very little 

 success in controlling the loading of the anchors from 

 the ARS. Total penetration of the fluke after keying 

 was 32 feet. 



Test 9 (8 Feb 73) 



Prior to the installation of SEACON II* in which 

 the 20K anchor would be used, it was decided to 

 perform a couple of tests to determine the most suit- 

 able fluke sizes. This was necessary because a long 

 core could not be obtained at this site. The 1-1/2 x 

 3-foot sand fluke was used with a 3.25-pound charge. 

 Load was applied differently during this test. The 

 ship was allowed to drift until the line became taut; 

 then the ship's speed was increased slowly. This pro- 

 ved to be an excellent method for controlling the 

 load. The load was increased to 36,000 pounds, at 

 which time the skipper decided to back the ship 

 down to avoid fouling the screws with the line. (It 

 was doubtful that this would occur.) The ship was 

 moved more rapidly in reverse than desired, causing 

 the line to suddenly become taut at which time the 

 anchor pulled out at 30,000 pounds. Total penetra- 

 tion of the fluke after keying was 18 feet. 



Test 10 (8 Feb 73) 



The second firing at SEAGON II utilized a 2 x 

 4-foot clay fluke with a 2.75-pound charge. Load was 

 applied by slowly backing down the ship. The anchor 

 pulled out at 27,200 pounds. Load was applied quite 

 rapidly with pullout occurring in less than 1 minute, 

 even though care was exercised in controlling the 

 ship's speed. To date it has been extremely difficult 

 to perform controlled deep-ocean test loadings. Total 

 penetration of the anchor fluke after keying was 23 

 feet. The seafloor was less sandy than that at test 9, 

 which was about a mile away. Even though the sea- 

 floor was apparently somewhat variable at this site, 

 the decision to use the sand fluke for SEAGON II was 

 made. 



TEST OPERATION HI 



Two tests with the 20K anchor were performed in 

 a basalt seafloor just north of Anacapa Island (20 



'' An instrumented cabled structure in 3,000 feet of water. 



27 



