Molding capacities equal to or exceeding the 

 20,000-pound design capacity have been achieved in 

 these seafloors. The most consistent performance has 

 been in sands and silty sand. Operability in water 

 depths of 50 to 20,000 feet has been demonstrated 

 by ocean and ocean-simulation testing. Actual firing 

 has occurred in water from 48 to 18,700 feet, and the 

 device has been subjected to 20,000 feet of water 

 pressure in a pressure chamber. This is a satisfactory 

 demonstration tliat the system will operate at 20,000 

 feet in as much as the gun chamber is sealed and the 

 electronics and cartridge assembly operate at atmos- 

 pheric pressure. 



Several attempts were made to reduce the cost of 

 the anchor by eliminating the fluke linkage and 

 attaching the downhaul cable directly to the fluke at 

 its eccentric connection point. This did not work very 

 well because the piston would not separate as the 

 fluke was pulled vertically, thus preventing or 

 delaying keying. This technique could probably be 

 used in coral, but the linkage should be used in 

 sediment unless a more positive fluke/piston 

 separation scheme can be designed. The anchor, 

 which can be quickly assembled, is easily handled and 

 deployed from a variety of vessels with limited to 

 well-developed handling capabilities, such as a Navy 

 warping tug, cable layer (ARC), ARS, and ATF. 



The structural integrity of the system has been 

 verified through multiple firings with the same gun 

 assembly and flukes. There have been no sealing diffi- 

 culties with the anchor; this is attributed to the 

 checkout procedure which involves applying a 

 vacuum to each pressure-resistant chamber prior to 

 deployment. The anchor has been tested or utilized 36 

 times with 10 nonfires. These were primarily caused 

 by malfunctions in either the touchdown assembly or 

 the safe-and-arm device. The touchdown assembly 

 was redesigned after test number 5, and it has since 

 operated with high reliability except for test 20 

 where the magnetic switch malfunctioned. In this 

 type of malfunction the anchor simply does not fire 

 and is brought on deck in a safe condition. The 

 magnetic switch is normally a high reliability item 

 that is pressure-checked before use. 



The safe-and-arm device was redesigned after test 

 16 where four nonfires occurred in rapid succession, 

 all caused by leaking inflators below the gas bottle. 

 The aluminum inflators were eliminated and 



subsequent to this change, there were no further 

 problems with the ordnance S/A. 



A nonordnance S/A was introduced into the 

 system at test 30. The nonfires of tests 32 and 34 

 were caused by malfunctions in this unit. This new 

 S/A has since received considerable bench testing and 

 has been used in 27 additional anchor firings as part 

 of other programs with excellent reliability. In only 

 one instance did the S/A fail to fire the charge, and 

 this was caused by an empty gas canister. This could 

 have been caused by human error or a faulty one-way 

 valve on the canister. In any event, the system was 

 safe when brought on deck, and the S/A was 

 replaced. The new, reusable S/A reduces the cost of 

 each shallow-water anchor firing (<600 feet) by 40%. 



This anchor was designed and fabricated to prove 

 that the idea of using a propellant-actuated anchor in 

 a large range of water depths, particularly very deep 

 water, and in the range of anticipated deep-ocean 

 seafloors was a practical alternative to conventional 

 anchors. Based upon the test results, the idea is 

 practicable. It now remains to maximize anchor 

 flexibility by varying the configuration as necessary 

 to reduce cost and to devise installation techniques to 

 simplify and speed anchor deployment. The existing 

 technique for deep-water installation utilizes a single 

 lowering anchor line, which results in the loss of the 

 gun assembly (Figure 19). Even considering this loss, 

 however, total anchoring cost is still less than that for 

 conventional anchors. 



Appendix B describes some alternate procedures 

 for instalhng the anchor system and some techniques 

 for reducing anchoring cost by retrieving some of the 

 components. It is probable that the most efficient 

 installation/recovery technique for any particular set 

 of conditions is not described. However, the best 

 technique could possibly be devised through a com- 

 bination of the methods. The maximum estimated 

 water depth for each technique is listed for each 

 method. 



SUMMARY 



The CEL 20K anchor has satisfied the operational 

 criteria defined at the inception of development by: 



(a) operating successfully in a wide range of sea- 

 floor types (from soft clay to hard rock) 



23 



