Reliable and Convenient Multi-Helix Soil Anchor for Deployable Structures

A new helical soil anchor was designed for realizing improvements in reliability, ease of use, weight and bulk reduction, and uplift capacity at competitive cost. Experimental investigations were undertaken to validate the advantages of the new anchor design. Design of the anchor targeted a minimum uplift capacity of 1,780 N in different soil types. This uplift capacity reflects the expected service wind force applied to soil anchors used with tents, and is two to three times the uplift capacity provided by standard anchors. The anchor design developed in the project has innovative features that lower its installation force, and improve its ease of use. The performance characteristics of the new anchor design in different soil types were found to be superior to those of the anchors (steel pins and wood stakes) used commonly with tents and deployable structures. The new anchor met the targeted performance requirements in a broad spectrum of soil types. In the case of problem soils of h