The Engineering Calculation of Flexible Shells of Timber-Rafting Anchors

Currently, the issue of delivering wood raw materials from remote forest areas, where the largest volumes are located, is relevant. Often, this delivery is economically justified only when using a network of medium and small rivers with the use of environmentally friendly technologies. On such rivers, it is preferable to use mobile anchors, in particular shore fillable ones, for fixing timber-rafting objects. A description has been given of a new modification of such an anchor, which differs from the prototype by a container having a flexible shell. This allows to significantly reduce the material consumption for manufacturing the container, the dimensions of the anchor in the transport position, and to produce anchors of any realistic size. The choice of the most rational option for such a container implies the scientific justification of its parameters. The aim of the study is to develop a scientific basis for this justification. Analytical formulas have been theoretically obtained for determining the basic geometric characteristics of the cross-section of the container under consideration. These formulas are useful in scientific research, but their application is very problematic in practical engineering calculations. This is due to the dependence of the specified characteristics on elliptic integrals and parameters, which are very difficult to measure in engineering practice. Having performed calculations using these formulas for a single cross-sectional area, we have obtained its specific geometric characteristics for various shapes, i.e. for various width-to-height ratios of a container to be filled. The results of the calculations have been approximating dependencies linking the named characteristics with the specified ratio, which is called the shape factor. Multiplying the specific characteristics by the square root of the cross-sectional area gives the absolute values of the corresponding characteristics. As a result, we have obtained formulas convenient for practical use, allowing to determine the width and height of the container to be filled, the width of its base, the perimeter of the cross-section, the heights of the zero pressure line and the extreme lateral point of the cross-section above the base of the container. The accuracy of calculations based on these and analytical formulas is almost the same. A formula for determining the specific tension of a flexible container shell has been obtained. The nature and degree of influence of the shape factor and length of the container on its other geometric characteristics have been established. An algorithm for substantiating the key parameters of a container to be filled with a flexible shell has been developed using the described results.