3. The small "Explosive" anchor concept was tested in shallow 

 and deep water and was judged to be feasible for deep sea anchoring 

 application. However, work on this small concept was suspended in favor 

 of the vibratory anchor. The vibratory anchor offers more economical 

 expendable parts and extended power application during embedment making 

 it more accommodating to instrumentation for measuring penetration of 

 the seafloor and predicting holding capacity. Future work on explosive 

 anchors for deep sea applications appears justified to obtain greater 

 holding capacities than practicable with the vibratory concept and/or 



to function in seafloors not suitable for the use of vibratory anchors. 



4. The "Padlock" anchor work resulted in a tripod framework and 

 rewind mechanism that can be used to obtain increased capacity of 

 explosive or other direct embedment deep sea anchors once they are 

 perfected to a satisfactory reliable level. Also, it can provide 

 bearing capability for bottom rest structures in the sea. Ultimately, 

 refinement and application of the "Padlock" anchor concept to meet the 

 anchor performance requirements of high capacity complex deep sea 

 installations is contemplated. 



5. The "Vibratory" anchor currently is the center of the deep 

 ocean anchoring development effort. A first generation design has been 

 achieved that demonstrates the concept is feasible. The design is 

 adaptable to instrumentation to measure and confirm its penetration 

 into the seafloor. The new quick-keying fluke design adapted from the 

 free-fall anchor has proved to be functional and is a major improvement 

 over other known flukes for direct embedment anchors. Instrumentation 

 has been developed to signal confirmation of the vibratory anchor's 

 proper attitude prior to embedding and to signal the amount of its 

 penetration. Analytical procedures have been devised to optimize the 

 vibratory anchor design relating fluke size, seafloor conditions, and 

 power requirements to achieve proper embedments. 



Despite these developments, certain improvements are required for 

 the vibratory anchor to be reliable and functional in deep water. A 

 second generation vibratory anchor will be designed that will include 

 improvements in the support guidance system, the fluke shaft linkage, 

 and the battery power unit package. The second generation design will 

 be tested to evaluate the mechanical improvements and to substantiate 

 or modify the analytical procedures used to optimize the anchor. 



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