TOWING A LONG CABLE AT SLOW SPEEDS: A THREE-DIMENSIONAL DYNAMIC MODEL

The gross (greater than 25 meters) three-dimensional motions of a cable towing a heavy instrument package at depths of 4 kilometers during complex maneuvers of the tow ship have been modeled using a computer program. Actual tracks of the towing vessel have been used as boundary conditions for the model, and the predicted paths for the instrument package have been compared with actual tracks of the instrument package as monitored by transponder navigation. Ship speeds during the maneuvers ranged from 0.5 to 1.5 m/sec while the length of the towing cable ranged from 4 to 6 km. Tangential drag as well as inertial forces were ignored in the model. The drag coefficient, CD, was considered to be unknown and was found by minimizing the root mean square discrepancy between observed and calculated positions of the instrument package. At the minimum rms error of 170 m, CD was 2.7, but because of the approximate nature of the simulation, this value may not reflect the actual drag coefficient for the cable. (Author)

  • Supplemental Notes:
    • Availability: Pub. in Marine Technology Society Jnl., v7 n3 p23-31 May-Jun 73.
  • Corporate Authors:

    Scripps Institution of Oceanography

    California Marine Physical Laboratory
    San Diego, CA  United States 

    Office of Naval Research

    Department of the Navy, 800 North Quincy Street
    Arlington, VA  United States  22217

    National Science Foundation

    1800 G Street, NW
    Washington, DC  United States  20550
  • Authors:
    • Ivers, W D
    • Mudie, J D
  • Publication Date: 1973

Media Info

  • Pagination: 13 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00084437
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
  • Report/Paper Numbers: MPL-U-33/71
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Jun 26 1975 12:00AM