On the failure to lay the submarine cable

Abstract

This paper presents the formulation and solution of governing equations that can be used to analyse the three-dimensional (3D) behaviour of either marine cables during installation or the response of segmented elastic mooring line catenaries as used for floating offshore structures when both are subjected to arbitrary sheared currents. The methodology used is an extension of one recently developed for analyses of marine cables when being installed on the seabed or being towed. The formulation describes elastic cable geometry in terms of two angles, elevation and azimuth, which are related to Cartesian co-ordinates by geometric compatibility relations. These relations are combined with the cable equilibrium equations to obtain a system of non-linear differential equations, which are numerically integrated by fourth and fifth order Runga–Kutta methods. The inclusion of cable elasticity and the ability to consider arbitrary stored currents are key features of this analysis. Results for cable tension, angles, geometry and elongation are presented for three example cases—the installation of a fibre optic marine cable, the static analysis of a deep water mooring line and the response of a telecommunications cable to a multi-directional current profile.