Displacement of Tethered Hydro-Acoustic Modems by Uniform Horizontal Currents

摘要

Undersea sensors often include an acoustic modem buoyed above a seabed mooring or suspended beneath a surface buoy. In both cases, a vertical cable is subjected to horizontal water currents. This thesis examines the two cases, the first characterized by a cable moored to the bottom of the ocean with a buoyant end, and the second being a cable suspended or towed from a surface buoy or Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) with a weighted end. The equations of motion are similar, as both cases have an object affixed to the free end of the cable and the other end fixed to a stable point. A physics- based algorithm in MATLAB models the effects of drag and buoyancy on the cable and predicts the steady-state shape of the cable.