Mooring Tension and Motion Characteristics of A Submerged Fish Reef with Net in Waves and Currents Using Numerical Analysis

A numerical model was used to analyze the motion response and mooring tension of a submerged fish reef system. The system included a net attached to a rigid structure suspended up from the bottom with a single, high tension mooring by fixed flotation. The analysis was performed by using a Morison equation type finite element model configured with truss elements. Input forcing parameters into the model consisted of both regular and irregular waves, with and without a steady current. Heave, surge and pitch dynamic calculations of the reef structure were made. Tension response results of the attached mooring line were also computed. Results were analyzed in both the time and frequency domain in which appropriate, linear transfer functions were calculated. The influence of the current was more evident in the tension and heave motion response data. This is most likely the result of the large buoyancy characteristics of the reef structure and the length of the mooting cable. Maximum mooting component tension was found to be 13.9 kN and occurred when the reef was subjected to irregular waves with a co-linear current of 1.0 m/s velocity. The results also showed that the system had little damping （in heave） with damped natural periods of 2.8 s. This combination of system characteristics promotes a possible resonating situation in typical open sea conditions with similar wave periods.

Comparative Study of Two Approaches to Model the Offshore Fish Cages

The goal of this paper is to provide a comparative analysis of two commonly used approaches to discretize offshore fish cages： the lumped-mass approach and the finite element technique. Two case studies are chosen to compare predictions of the LMA（lumped-mass approach） and FEA（finite element analysis） based numerical modeling techniques. In both case studies, we consider several loading conditions consisting of different uniform currents and monochromatic waves. We investigate motion of the cage, its deformation, and the resultant tension in the mooring lines. Both model predictions are sufficient close to the experimental data, but for the first experiment, the DUT-Flex Sim predictions are slightly more accurate than the ones provided by Aqua-FETM. According to the comparisons, both models can be successfully utilized to the design and analysis of the offshore fish cages provided that an appropriate safety factor is chosen.

Dynamics of Submersible Mussel Rafts in Waves and Current

To investigate the dynamics of submersible mussel rafts, the finite element program Aqua-FETM, developed by the University of New Hampshire（UNH）, was applied to rafts moored at the surface and submerged. The submerged configuration is used to reduce wave forcing and to avoid contact with floating ice during winters in northern waters. Each raft consists of three pontoons connected by a grid framework. Rafts are intended to support densely spaced mussel ropes hung from the framework. When submerged, the pontoons are flooded, and the raft is held vertically by floats attached by lines. The computer models were developed in Aqua-FE？ to simulate the effects of waves and current. They were validated by comparison with wave tank results by use of a 1/10 scale raft physical model. Comparisons showed good agreement for the important heave（vertical） and pitch（rotational） motions, though there was a tendency towards conservative results for wave and current drag. Full-scale simulations of surface and submerged single raft and two rafts connected in tandem were performed. Submerged raft wave response was found to be reduced relative to that at the surface for both the single and two-raft configurations. In particular, the vertical motion of mussel rope connection points was significantly reduced by submergence, resulting in reduced potential for mussel drop-off. For example, the maximum vertical velocities of mussel rope attachment points in the submerged two raft case were 7%-20% of the corresponding velocities when at the surface.