DYNAMICS OF OCEAN CABLES WITH LOCAL LOW-TENSION REGIONS

A general set of 3-D dynamic field equations for a cable segment is de rived based on the classical Euler-Kirchhoff theory of an elastica. Th e model includes flexural stiffness to remove the potential singularit y when cable tension vanishes and can be reduced to the equations for a perfectly flexible cable. A hybrid model and a solution scheme by di rect integration are then proposed to solve the oceanic cable/body sys tem with a localized low-tension region. Numerical examples demonstrat e the capability and validity of the formulation and the numerical alg orithm. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.