Royal Boskalis, Netherlands

Development of the BADA Anchor (Boskalis Active Drill Anchor), 2019

Royal Boskalis is one of the largest dredging companies in the world. The company has developed a suction dredging method that enables the cutting of soft rock types such as limestone and sandstone. This method is particularly suitable for the construction of shipping lanes in the Middle East. The development work focused on anchoring the guide wires of the cutting blade to the rock.

The type of anchors was developed and their capacity in different types of sedimentary rocks was calculated. To validate the computational analyses, a test field was built at the company’s yard in Rotterdam. The test field included areas simulating various rock types, which were constructed using concretes of different strengths. The anchor load tests were conducted in September 2019.

The actual breaking forces and failure mechanisms matched the predictions. Boskalis patented the BADA anchor method.

Figure 1. Cutting Suction Dredging Method

Figure 2. Boskalis Suction Dredger

Figure 3. Example Calculation of Anchor Horizontal Capacity

Figure 4. Anchor Load Tests, Rotterdam 2019

Figure 5. Anchor Loaded to Failure