Discrete Parameter Analysis as a Practical Means For Solving Mooring Behavior Problems

Abstract

Cables used singly, or in multiple cable mooring systems, to secure floating structures such as ships, buoys and drilling rigs, present significant analytical difficulties in the determination of static cable configuration and stress distribution. Analysis of the dynamic behavior of mooring systems becomes even more complex with fewer possibilities for predicting motion. This paper explains the fundamental concepts underlying the discrete parameter approach to static analysis and examines it by comparison with results obtained by a mathematically exact treatment of a continuous cable.