Abstract

The dynamic response of an offshore aquaculture system with mooring lines, buoys, feeder vessel, and fish cage under waves and currents has been investigated. The system has been modeled by using the fully nonlinear finite-element software Orcaflex. To model the cage, a combination of lines, 3 and 6 degree of freedom buoys are used. The drag coefficient acting over the net is determined at each time step of the simulation based on the relative normal velocity between the element and the fluid flow. The system is kept in place by the use of a Single Point Mooring (SPM) line attached to a surface buoy which is connected to the vessel. The vessel is coupled to the cage by an umbilical line that carries feeder hose, video camera cables, and other connections. The numerical simulations showed that the proposed system can be used in both operational and storm conditions.

Keywords:
spm buoy-feeder-cage system, drag coefficient, numerical model, heave, feeder vessel, current profile, simulation, displacement, buoy, upstream oil & gas
Subjects:
Offshore Facilities and Subsea Systems
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2014. International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers
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