This paper describes an investigation into the performance and pull-out capacity of a bladder-type inflatable anchor. The inflatable anchor is a type of support member used in foundation pit support engineering. Based on improvements and innovations, the multi-bladder-type inflatable anchor consists of two or more hydraulically inflated rubber membranes that are embedded in unconsolidated earth and then inflated to provide pull-out capacity. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the impact of inflation pressure, embedment depth, number of bladders, bladder length, and rubber film thickness on the pull-out capacity and displacement of the inflatable anchor. The tests were carried out in a cylindrical steel test chamber filled with medium coarse sand. The pull-out behavior of the bladder-type inflatable anchor and the five variables was investigated, and the benchmark values for all tests are determined by similarity ratio. Compared with the single bladder inflatable anchor, under the same conditions, the ultimate pull-out capacity of the two bladder-type inflatable anchor is 1.2 times higher, with ultimate displacement only 37.5% of the former, the ultimate pull-out capacity of the three bladder-type inflatable anchor is 1.7 times higher, with ultimate displacement only 32.3% of the former. The two bladder-type inflatable anchor is superior to the single bladder inflatable anchor and the multi-bladder-type has higher ultimate pull-out capacity and greater stiffness. The inflation pressure and the rubber film thickness have a significant influence on the bearing capacity. The number of bladders effectively controls the ultimate displacement.
Keywords: Physical model; bladder-type; inflatable anchor; ultimate displacement; ultimate pull-out capacity.