A Numerical Procedure Accounting for Fluid Drag Forces and Cable Extensibility for the Static Response of Mooring Cables

Abstract

An effective numerical method is proposed for the three-dimensional nonlinear analysis of mooring cables using catenary theory. In this method, the mooring line is divided into finite number of catenary elements. In addition to self-weight, each catenary element is subjected to drag force due to steady ocean currents. The proposed procedure is validated by comparing the results with those of the shooting optimization and the finite element methods. Finally, a parametric study is conducted to study the effect of extensibility on the static response of mooring cables. The effects of fluid drag forces and cable extensibility on mooring cable tension, equilibrium configurations, and stressed lengths are illustrated for two- and three-dimensional mooring cable problems. From the numerical results, the method is found to be numerically stable, and it provides a more rational static response for mooring cables.