Dynamic behavior of a submersible fish cage rigged with a circular floating and a sinking collar

Abstract

In this research, the submersible fish cage was designed to avoid structural and biological damage during harsh sea conditions. The submersible cage system consists of netting, mooring ropes, a floating collar, floats, sinkers and anchors. Whole elements of the cage were modeled on the mass-spring model. The computer simulations were carried out to investigate the dynamic behavior of the cage and to calculate mooring line tension subjected to tidal currents and waves. As expected, the tension values in the mooring line of the submerged position are 36% less compared to that of the surface cage under the same loading conditions. As the wave was used in combination with the current velocity of 1m/s, the average tensile load for the submerged cage showed 85% of the value for the floating cage. The simulation results provide an improved understanding of the behaviors of the structure and valuable information on the optimized design of the cage system exposed to open ocean environmental factors.