Numerical Analysis on the Effects of Submerged Depth of the Grid and Direction of Incident Wave on Gravity Cage

In this paper, the numerical model of the net cage with the grid mooring system in waves is set up by the lumped mass method and rigid kinematics theory, and then the motion equations of floating system, net system, mooring system, and floaters are solved by the Runge-Kutta fifth-order method. For the verification of the numerical model, a series of physical model tests have been carried out. According to the comparisons between the simulated and experimental results, it can be found that the simulated and experimental results agree well in each condition. Then, the effects of submerged depth of grid and direction of incident wave propagation on hydrodynamic behaviors of the net cage are analyzed. According to the simulated results, it can be found that with the increase of submerged depth of grid, the forces acting on mooring lines and bridle lines increase, while the forces on grid lines decrease; the horizontal motion amplitudes of floating collar decrease obviously, while the vertical motion amplitudes of floating collar change little. When the direction of incident wave propagation changes, forces on mooring lines and motion of net cage also change accordingly. When the propagation direction of incident wave changes from 0° to 45°, forces on the main ropes and bridle ropes increase, while the forces on the grid ropes decrease. With the increasing propagation direction of incident wave, the horizontal amplitude of the forces collar decreases, while the vertical amplitude of the floating collar has little variation.

Numerical Simulation of Hydrodynamic Behaviors of Gravity Cage in Waves

This paper aims at investigation of the dynamic properties of gravity cage exposed to waves by use of a numerical model. The numerical model is developed, based on lumped mass method to set up the equations of motion of the whole cage; meanwhile the solutions of equations are solved by the Runge-Kutta-Vemer fifth-order and sixth-order method. Physical model tests have been carried out to examine the validity of the numerical model. The results by the numerical simulation agree well with the experimental data.

Hydrodynamic coefficients of a simplified floating system of gravity cage in waves

Numerical simulation and experimental tests were carried out to examine the hydrodynamic behaviors of a double-column floating system of gravity cage under wave conditions. A floating system of gravity cage can be treated as a small-sized floating structure when compared with the wavelengths. The main problem in calculating the wave loads on the small-sized floating structure is to obtain the reasonable force coefficients, which may differ from a submerged structure. In this paper, the floating system of gravity cage is simplified to a 2D problem, where the floating system is set symmetrically under wave conditions. The motion equations were deduced under wave conditions and a specific method was proposed to resolve the problem of wave forces acting on a small-sized floating system of gravity cage at water surface. Results of the numerical method were compared with those from model tests and the hydrodynamic coefficients Cn and Cr were studied. It is found that Cn ranges from 0.6 to 1.0 while Cr is between 0.4 and 0.6 in this study. The results are useful for research on the hydrodynamic behavior of the deep-water gravity sea cages.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE EFFECTS OF WEIGHT SYSTEM ON THE HYDRODYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF 3-D NET OF GRAVITY CAGE IN CURRENT

In this article, a model of 3-D net is set up by using lumped mass method. Model test results made by Lader and Enerhaug are cited to verify the numerical model. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of weight system on the hydrodynamic behavior of 3-D net of gravity cage in current. Using the 3-D net model, with different styles and masses of weight system, hydrodynamic behavior of gravity cage net in current is simulated. In this article, two styles of common weight system are used, which include： （1） sinker system , （2） bottom collar-sinker system. Under each style, three different masses of weight system are adopted. The numerical results indicate that the bottom collar-sinker system is practically feasible in improving the cage net volume deformation. Results of this study will give references for better knowledge of hydrodynamic behavior of gravity cage.