Marine tether dynamics: retrieval and deployment from a heaving platform

A tether management system of a winch module in a marine environment is proposed. For the purpose of this study the subsea body is considered as a mass attached at the free end of a long tether which is wrapped around a circular drum controlled by an external torque. The winch is considered mounted on a heaving platform. The effect of the heaving platform on the motions of the drum, tether and attached mass are studied with respect to the longitudinal vibrations of the tether in one dimension. The hydrodynamic effects are considered on the deployed portion of the tether and the tethered mass, both of which are assumed submerged in otherwise still water. The resulting nonlinear system of equations of motion is developed and solved numerically for an example of a marine tether system. The effect of the tether extensibility on the operation threshold of the system is identified. Comparison with an inextensible tether case is provided. The numerical results and their analysis for the retrieval/deployment of the system are presented.     

Dynamics and control of a towed underwater vehicle system, part I: model development

Autonomous vehicles are being developed to replace the conventional, manned surface vehicles that tow mine hunting towed platforms. While a wide body of work exists that describes numerical models of towed systems, they usually include relatively simple models of the towed bodies and neglect the dynamics of the towing vehicle. For systems in which the mass of the towing vehicle is comparable to that of the towed vehicle, it becomes important to consider the dynamics of both vehicles. In this work, we describe the development of a numerical model that accurately captures the dynamics of these new mine hunting systems. We use a lumped mass approximation for the towcable and couple this model to non-linear numerical models of an autonomous surface vehicle and an actively controlled towfish. Within the dynamics models of the two vehicles, we include non-linear controllers to allow accurate maneuvering of the towed system.     

Snow loads on wire mesh and cable net rockfall slope protection systems

Snow load on mesh systems is complicated by many factors. This paper presents field instrumentation data on snow load variation with temperature, snowfall and snow depth on a mesh system. It was found that snow load pattern on mesh systems changed with temperature even without variation in snow depth. It reached its maximum value when the temperature rose just above freezing to melt the interface. The field data was used to formulate appropriate snow load models for the various conditions of temperature in the field. The snow load models were used to study the performance of a number of mesh systems in North America and estimate the interface friction that was prevalent for the different surface conditions.     

Flexible membranes anchored to the ground for slope stabilisation: Numerical modelling of soil slopes using SPH

An alternative modelling for flexible membranes anchored to the ground for soil slope stabilisation is presented using Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics to model the unstable ground mass in a soil slope, employing a dynamic solve engine. A regression model of pressure normal to the ground, q_sim, and also membrane deflection, f_sim, have been developed using Design of Experiment. Finally, a comparison between the pressure obtained from numerical simulation and from a limit equilibrium analysis considering infinite slope has been carried out, showing differences in the results, mainly due to the membrane stiffness.     

Compression limit state of HVAC submarine cables

An industry accepted standard does not currently exist for determination of compression limits in a subsea cable. This has resulted in most manufacturers specifying that subsea cables are not permitted to be axially loaded in compression.Additionally industry guidance does not exist regarding the consequences of inducing compression forces within subsea cables and the resulting effect on cable integrity. Industry recommended practice and guidance also does not have any information regarding experimental test arrangements to determine allowable compression levels within a subsea cable. This lack of modelling/testing guidance along with manufacturer recommendations of zero compressive loads within subsea cables results in overly conservative and restrictive design parameters for subsea cable installation and use.Due to the complex interaction within a subsea cable structure, such as contact interaction and friction between cable strands, theoretical modelling has been unable to provide reliable stress predictions and therefore an experimental testing regime is required if compression limits within the cable are to be appropriately determined. This paper describes combined axial and bending test arrangements that can be used as a guideline for determination of allowable compression limits for subsea cables.     

Debris flow hazard mitigation: A simplified analytical model for the design of flexible barriers

A channelized debris flow is usually represented by a mixture of solid particles of various sizes and water flowing along a laterally confined inclined channel-shaped region to an unconfined area where it slows down and spreads out into a flat-shaped mass.The assessment of the mechanical behavior of protection structures upon impact with a flow, as well as the energy associated to it, are necessary for the proper design of such structures which, in densely populated areas, can prevent victims and limit the destructive effects of such a phenomenon.In the present paper, a simplified analysis of the mechanics of the impact of a debris flow is considered in order to estimate the forces that develop on the main structural elements of a deformable retention barrier.For this purpose, a simplified structural model of cable-like retention barriers has been developed – on basis of the equation of equilibrium of wires under large displacement conditions, – and the restraining forces, cable stresses and dissipated energies have been estimated.The results obtained from parametric analyses and full-scale tests have then been analysed and compared with the proposed model.     

Time-domain numerical simulation of ocean cable structures

This paper describes the numerical features of WHOI Cable, a computer program for analyzing the statics and dynamics of oceanographic cable structures. The governing equations include the effects of geometric and material nonlinearities, bending stiffness for seamless modeling of slack cables, and a model for the interaction of cable segments with the sea floor. The program uses the generalized-α time integration algorithm, adaptive time stepping, and adaptive spatial gridding to produce accurate, stable solutions for dynamic problems. The nonlinear solver uses adaptive relaxation to improve robustness for both static and dynamic problems. The program solves surface and subsurface single-point mooring problems, multi-leg and branched array systems, and towing and drifting problems. User specified forcing can include waves, currents, wind, and ship speed.     

Transient behavior of towed cable systems during ship turning maneuvers

The dynamic behavior of a towed cable system that results from the tow ship changing course from a straight-tow trajectory to one involving steady circular turning at a constant radius is examined. For large-radius ship turns, the vehicle trajectory and vehicle depth assumed, monotonically and exponentially, the large-radius steady-state turning solution of Chapman [Chapman, D.A., 1984. The towed cable behavior during ship turning manoeuvers. Ocean Engineering 11, 327–361]. For small-radius ship turns, the vehicle trajectory initially followed a corkscrew pattern with the vehicle depth oscillating about and eventually decaying to the steady-state turning solution of Chapman (1984). The change between monotonic and oscillatory behavior in the time history of the vehicle depth was well defined and offered an alternate measure to Chapman's (1984) critical radius for the transition point between large-radius and small-radius behavior. For steady circular turning in the presence of current, there was no longer a steady-state turning solution. Instead, the vehicle depth oscillated with amplitude that was a function of the ship-turning radius and the ship speed. The dynamics of a single 360° turn and a 180° U-turn are discussed in terms of the transients of the steady turning maneuver. For a single 360° large-radius ship turn, the behavior was marked by the vehicle dropping to the steady-state turning depth predicted by Chapman (1984) and then rising back to the initial, straight-tow equilibrium depth once the turn was completed. For small ship-turning radius, the vehicle dropped to a depth corresponding to the first trough of the oscillatory time series of the steady turning maneuver before returning to the straight-tow equilibrium depth once the turn was completed. For some ship-turning radii, this resulted in a maximum vehicle depth that was greater than the steady-state turning depth. For a 180° turn and ship-turning radius less than the length of the tow cable, the vehicle never reached the steady-state turning depth.     

Parameters influence on maneuvered towed cable system dynamics

The dynamic response of a towed cable system to ship maneuver is parametrically simulated. Three dimensionless parameters influence on towed cable system maneuverability is investigated. They are ratio of total length to turning radius R/L, ratio of cable mass to vehicle mass σ, and ratio of mass unit length to hydrodynamic force w/r. An oscillatory motion of towed vehicle is found in simulation of spiral towed courses. Features of this oscillation in different spiral courses are compared. The sharp turns, gradual turns and their transient states of towed cable dynamics for different course directions are discussed extensively. According to the characters of transient states and horizontal trajectories evolution of maneuvered cable system, the dynamic behaviors can be divided into three situations in Fig. 8 turning maneuvers. The behavior of towed cable system during a zigzag turning course is simulated in the end. Two ingredients of heave motion are found during small ratio of turning radii to length in this course. The primary damp to initial turning becomes weak and the response to alternative turns plays a more and more important role. The damping properties of the transient behavior in different maneuvers show a periodical invariance to σ during some turning maneuvers.     

基于材料非线性的两种海缆弯曲限制器的有限元分析与试验验证

海缆在使用过程中,受到洋流冲击及自身重量的影响,容易过度弯曲,从而影响海缆的寿命,造成经济损失。弯曲限制器是防止海缆过度弯曲的重要附件。文中建立海缆弯曲限制器A、B两种不同结构的模型,通过有限元模拟分析,比较在相同弯矩载荷下两种结构的锁紧弯曲半径及应力、应变情况,并通过试验验证两种结构的实际使用情况和模拟分析结果的一致性,为海缆弯曲限制器的优化改进提供了参考。计算结果表明:随着弯矩的增大,两种结构的锁定弯曲半径的变化趋势一致,但相同的弯曲半径下所能承受的载荷和两种结构曲率的平缓度有着较大的差异;在相同的应用环境下,B型结构能够更好地保护海缆,限制海缆的最小弯曲半径。