Skip to main content

Simulating deep-sea, heavy-lift cables

A recent project of note involved heavy-lifting undersea cables. As George says, "We really don’t have any specialty as FEA consultants, except how to figure out how to model complex systems."

That was especially true in this complex project involving the dynamic movement of undersea tensioned cables. As the cables pump or tow objects, they whip back and forth due to both sea currents and lift operations. With an estimated cost per cable in the millions of dollars, it was crucial to find a model solution.

Our work demonstrates a numerically elegant manner to simulate the FSI forces acting on large diameter high-modulus polyethylene rope (Spectra) during a deep-sea heavy lift operation.

READ THE FULL ANALYSIS:
Advanced LS-DYNA Analysis to Simulate Fluid Drag, Vortex Shedding on Undersea Cables

Simulating deep-sea, heavy-lift cables