This paper describes a three-dimensional formulation of the equations governing the stationary behaviour of segmented marine cables during installation. The cable-laying vessel is assumed to move rectilinearly and pay out cable at constant speed. The statics of mooring lines represetns the particular case of no vessel motion. The analysis considers the elasticity of the cable and the hydrodynamic loading due to sheared currents. The cable stretching capability may be significant in extreme operation conditions. The presence of sheared currents renders analysis three-dimensional. A finite difference scheme - a Runge-Kutta fourth and fifth order method - is employed to integrate the set of first-order nonlinear differential equations. The cable geometry is described by elevation and azimuth angles which are geometrically connected to Cartesian coordinates by compatibility relations. Results of numerical simulations are presented for the static analysis of a typical semented deep water mooring line used in offshore Campos Basin.
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