Proceedmgs of the First Pacific/AsIa Offshore Mechamcs SymposIum

Seoul, Korea, 24-28 June, 1990

CopYright 1990 by The InternatIOnal SocIety of Offshore and Polar Engmeers

STATIC EQUILIBRIUM OF MARINE CABLES BY A VARIATIONAL METHOD

]{illg

5 Chucheepsakul
MOllgkut's Institute of TeclulOlogy TllOllburi
Bangkok, THAILAND
T Huang
Vnive15ity of Texa~ at Al'lington
Texas, USA

ABSTRACT

Pode (1951) and Wilson (1960) established tables of

integration, known as cable functlOns, for both the case of
constant and vanable tangential drag. However, the tables
are applicable only to uniform current profIles and are not
convenient for repetItlve design works. Webster (1975)
solved the nonlinear problem of under water cable using
the finite element method, and the related computer
program has been used widely in the ocean engineering
operations. Peyrot (1980) developed a caternary element for
the analysis of cable systems This method is believed to be
efficient for static analysis Leonard (1972) modeled under
water cables using curved cable elements in which
geometric and material nonlinear ties can be handled.
Triantafyllou (1982) proposed a procedure for the
preliminary design of inclined mooring lInes and used an
asymptotic techmque to solve the problem. Seck-Hong
(1983) presented a rigorous analysis of a general solution of
a static catenary with uniform horizontal load and vertical
load intensities.

Thls paper presents a method of static analysis of a

marine cable spanning two fixed points. The top tension of
the cable is given, while the total arc length, equihbrium
configuration, and top and bottom angles are to be
determined. In the analysis, a functlOnal is Introduced in
which the potential energy of stretching and virtual work
done by other forces are included The stationary condition
of the functional and one of two equilibrium equations are
used to solve the problem. Apphcation of the fimte
element method yields a system of nonlinear equations,
which is solved using the Newton-Raphson iterative
procedure. Accuracy of the method is demonstrated by a
companson of the numerical results obtained with those of
a catenary and a neutrally-buoyant cable.
INTRODUCTION
In many designs, the top tension of a manne cable or
mooring line spanning two fIxed pOints IS specified. The
specified tension may be governed by the strength of the
cable, the capacity of the Installation eqmpment, or the
deslred top force for operation. The problem of statIc
analysis for the cable, therefore, is to find the cable
configuration and the total arc length when the top tension
is given. In contrast, an alternative problem is to find the
configuration and maximum top tension with a given total
arc length. This paper focuses on the former problem.

Most of the mentioned procedures use the arc length

as the independent variable with a known total arc length,
and involve an iteration process to solve the nonhnear
equations resulting from large displacements Following
the same procedure it is posslble to solve the present
problem in which the total length is unknown. However,
two iteration loops are required. The inner loop solves the
nonlinear equations based on an assumed total arc length,
while the outer loop iterates to make the computed total
arc length equal to the assumed value. To alleviate the
disadvantage of this" additional iteration, a procedure to
solve the problem is presented herein. In the formulation,
the stationary condition of a functional together wlth an
equilibrium equation are used to solve the problem
numerically. The independent variable used in this
analysls is the vertical depth rather than the total arc length
and the cable configuration is expressed in rectangular
coordinates. Thus, at a given elevation the horizontal
coordinate defines the equilibrium position. The stationary
condition of the functional is required for static
equilibrium. ApplIcation of the finite element method to

Although the governing differentIal equations of a

cable segment are slmple, exphClt solutIons can be obtained
only for simple cases due to the nonlIneanty In the problem
and, in general, solutIOns are obtained by numencal
techniques. Literature of the analysis of mooring lines and
cables can be found In several text books, for example
Berteaux (1976), Irivne (1981), and Leonard (1988).
Extensive reviews are given by Migliore (1979) and Webster
(1982). There have been many analyses of manne cables in
the recent years, with only a few of them mentIoned herein.
Using the numerical evaluation of differential equations,

329

the stationary condition of the functional yields a system of

nonlinear equations and the Newton-Raphson iterative
procedure 1S used to solve these equatlOns. An example
test problem is given in which the results are m good
agreement with those reported by Berteaux (1976)
EQUILIBRIUM EQUATION AND FUNCTIONAL 1t
A marine cable is assumed to have an equilibrium
position in a vertical plane. The bottom end of the cable is
an anchor point while the top end is connected to a buoy or
a large object at a specified locahon, and the top tension is
known. The angle between top tension direction and
surface proflle of water is called the top angle, while the
angle between bottom tenslOn d1rection and bottom profile
of sea bed is the bottom angle. There exists a current
velocity profile wh1ch may vary with depth. Figure 1 shows
the cable configuration as descnbed.
Fig. 2. Differentlal segment of cable

Top tension
Excurs~on

unknown total arc length, L

To overcome the later
difficulty, an alternative approach IS proposed in which the
stationary condition of a functional together with equation
(2) is used to solve the problem.

XH
Top angle
I

/
I

An energy functional of a cable is introduced here

which is derived from that of Huang and Chucheepsakul
(1985) by neglecting the bending rigidities, the functional is

/
I
/
/

'/
/

./

(3)
in which H is the water depth, T is the cable tenSion, P is the

=:.

Anchor

distributed load parameter, and x'

The functional
represents the total work done due to the cable tension and
external forces. The distnbuted load parameter P, IS defmed
as
(4)
P = P n + PI X'

Fig. 1. EqUlhbnum configuration of cable

The load parameter, P, IS related to the horizontal

component of the distnbuted external force per umt arc

The equihbrium equations can be obtamed from an

infmitesimal element havmg an arc length ds and a verhcal
projectlOn dz at a locatlOn w1th a vertical distance z from
the bottom end Figure 2 shows the forces actmg on this
cable element. The summation of forces m the normal and
tangential dlrectlOns give

length, and the later is equal to P/~. The equilibrium

in the horizontal dlrectlOn reqUlres that 01t = 0, and durmg
the process of performing the variatlOn, T and P are not
varied.
EXTERNAL FORCES AND TENSION

(1)

The external forces acting on the cable include the

gravity force and the drag force The gravity force, We, is
the submerged we1ght of the cable per unit stretched arc
length given by

dT + PI = 0
(2)
ds
m which T IS the cable tension, <P is the angle of inclination
of the cable, s is the stretched arc length, P n and P t are the
external force in normal and tangential directions
respectively. Equations (1) and (2) are nonlinear dlfferentlal
equations in which T and <P are the two unknowns and the
arc length s 1S the independent variable They are vahd in
the range O<s<L where L IS the total arc length

(5)
where W is the weight per umt stretched length of the cable
and IS assumed equal to the unstretched value as the stram
IS assumed to be small, Pw IS the density of sea water, and A
IS the cross-sectional area of the cable. The drag force is due
to the steady current velocity, Vc, which can be decomposed
into the component normal to the cahle, Vn, and the component tangent to the cable VI Therefore, the components

These two equatlOns can not be solved exphcitly, not

only because of the nonhneanty but also due to the

330

of drag force per unit arc length due to current in the normal direction, Fn, and In the tangenhal direchon, F t, are expressed as (Berteaux, 1976)

_1
2
Fn - 2 Pw DCOn Vn

NUMERICAL PROCEDURE
Two unknowns to be involved are x(z) and T(z). The
stationary condition Olt = 0 and Eq. (13) are used to solve
this problem. Since a closed form solutlOn cannot be
obtained, it is necessary to solve the problem numerically.
In this study, the fimte element method is used.

(6)

A typical element and coordInate x(z) composed of two

parts xe and Xa are shown in Figure 3 and Written as
where D is the dIameter of cable, COn and COt are the
coefficient of normal drag and tangential drag respectively.
Usually, the ratio of COt/COn IS small and varied from 001
to 0.03. The velocity components Vn and Vt are gIven by
V n = Vccos <p

x(z)

(14)

xe + Xa

(7)

,,
/
/

From FIg 2, It can be seen that

/

fr ---------------/------.

x'

sm<p=~
1 ,2

(8)

x.t

')-..

It-I

xa

/o/'R.

--- - - --- -7'-------- "",7

V1+x,2

+ We SIn <p

'

/
/
/

cos 2<p

Therefore, the components of the external forces per

unit arc length, P n and P t , can be expressed as
P n =} Pw DCOn V~

+X

cos <p =

(9)

0". ,

Fig. 3. Cable element and coordinates

(10)
The component xe is linear in z, while

Xa

(11)

= [N] (q)

Xa(O)

positlOn Eq (2) is conSIdered, whIch gives

(12)

dT = -Pt ds

(q) =

dxa(O)
dz
xa(h)

By using the geometric relatlOn ds =

1+x,2 dz and
IntegratIng from locatIOn at z to the top end where z = H,
and using Eqs (8) and (10), one obtains

(16)

dXa(h)
dz

Let 1l:k be the part of 'the functional associated with the kth
element. Thus, the contributlOn to the global equilibrium
equations from the kth element is

V2 ,2

+ H 1 Pw It DCOt c x 2 dz
z 2
ff+X'

(15)

in which [N]IS the shape functlOn matrix (Cook, 1981) and

{q} is the local degree of freedom wntten as

To find an expresslOn for the cable tension at any

(Z - H)

is nonlInear

The coordinate component Xa 1S approximated by a cub1c

polynomial In z. Thus, the component Xa in the element 1S
given by

Then, by Eqs (4) and (7) - (10), one has

T(z) = TH + We

Xa

(13)

where We IS g1ven In Eq (5) and THIS the tenslOn at the top

and assumed to be known Numencal Integrahon IS used
to evaluatIOn Eq (13)
331

The results give the components Xa and Xii at the

nodes, and the nodal coordinates x is equal to the sum of Xt

(17)

and Xa which gIves the equilibnum position of the cable.

The arc length of the kth element can be determined by

xe

in which x' = xe + xii. Note that

is constant while xii is
LN J {q}. It is observed that in Eq (17) the differentiation
operator should not be applied to the tension T and loading
parameter P, although they are funchon of z, and In turn,
are function of {q}. A more detailed explanation can be
found in Huang (1984) and Huang and Rivero (1986). The
global equilibrium condition on = 0 can be obtained by
assembling the contributions from all elements given by Eq.
(17). Therefore, the equilibrium equations for the enhre
system is

J~)=IO}
\a Q,

(22)

The summation of all the element length gives the total

length of the cable. The top and bottom angle are obtained
by ~ - tan- 1 x' where x' IS evaluated at top and bottom
boundary respectively.
NUMERICAL EXAMPLE
Three loading cases for which numerical solutions
given by Berteaux (1976) were used to verify the model
formulation. The first case is a cable subjected to its own
weight and sustained by the top tenslOn; this is a catenary
cable. In the second case, a neutrally buoyant cable, there is
only the horizontal load due to current acting on the cable.
The explicit solutions can be obtained from these two cases.
However, for the third case In which the cable IS subjected
to all forces includmg vanable tangential drag, the explicit
solution cannot be found. The cable function (WIlson,
1960), which is obtained from the numerical integration of
the equilibrium equations of cable segment, is used for
comparison with the numencal results. The first two cases,
although numerical results are not presented herein,
compare favorably with the examples appeanng in the book
of Berteaux (1976). Input parameters used for the thIrd case
are given in Table 1.

(18)

which are a system of nonlinear equatlOns The boundary

conditIons for this problem are obtained from the condition
that x(O) = 0 and x(H) = XH. Thus, the boundary condihons
for solving Eq. (18) are
xa(O)

= xa(H) = 0

(19)

The set of Eqs. (18) with the boundary conditlOns gIVen by

Eq. (19) can be solved by the Newton-Raphson iterative
procedure.
The incremental equatIOn used In the
procedure is
[KNL] {LlQ} = -- {R)

(20)

The contribution to the square matnx [KNL] from the kth

element IS

a2nk 1= fh [[NY T 2[N'Jj dz

[aq,aqJ
(1 + x,2r

Table1. Input Parameters

Top tension, kN
Water depth, m
Excursion, m
Cable diameter, mm
Submerged weight of cable, N 1m
Velocity of constant current, m/sec
Density of sea water, kg/m.j
Drag coeffiCIent, CDn
Tangential drag coeffIcient, CDt

(21)

o
and the contribution to column vector {R} from the kth
element is given by Eq. (17)
The matrix [KN L] and column vector {R} are
numerically evaluated by GaussIan quadrature integration
WIth four Gauss points. The solution steps of Eq. (20) may
follow Huang and Chucheepsakul (1985) and they are
repeated here as follows:
1.
2.
3.

4.
5
6

11.1466
2600
1280
6.35
1.4628
0762
1025
1.54
0.0154

By using 20 fimte elements, the numerical calculation

was converged to the results listed in Table 2 Excellent
agreement is obtained, and Figure 4 show the equilibnum
configuration as described in the third case. With the
numerical confirmation of these test cases the authors
believed that the model developed here would yield
sufficient accuracy for engmeering applIcations

assume the imhal trial values, for convenience {Q} =

{OJ;
evaluate numerically the load parameter P and tension
T by Eqs. (11) and (13);
evaluate the contributlOns to {R} and [KNL] from each
element by Eqs. (17) and (21) and then assemble to the
global system;
apply boundary conditions, Eq (19), and solve for {LlQ}
by Eq. (20);
add [LlQ] to {Q} to give a new set of {Q};
repeat step 2 through 5 until convergence cntenon is
satisfied.

t e
lr
ase
Table 2. N umenca IC ompanson 0 fhThdC

Cable length, m
Top angle, degree
Bottom angle, degree

332

This study

Berteaux (1976)

301598
9038
3571

3020
90
35.9

z
1280 m
2800

water

L~ne

2400
2000
EO

-;; 1600

.s-1200

2600 m

0..
Q)

\..I

800

Q)

....
10
:s:

Anchor

200

400

600

800 100012001400

D~splacement,

x(m)

Fig. 4. Numencal solutlOn -- equilIbnum configuration

CONCLUSIONS
A method of analysIs to determine the static
equilibrium configuratIOn of a marine cable has been
developed. The method IS suitable for a cable with a gIVen
top tension and an unknown total cable length. In the
formulation, an energy functlOnal of a cable representmg
the work done by tensIOn and dlstnbuted external forces is
intro~uced.
The s?lutlOn involves an eqUilibrium
equation and the statIOnary condition of the functional.
The finite element method and the Newton-Raphson
Iteratlve procedure is used to solve the problem
numerically. An example IS given to demonstrate and
verify the model formulatIOn
The static eqUilibnum
configuration of the cable, the total cable length, and the top
and bottom angles are obtamed

Huang, T. and Rivero, C E., (1986), "On the FunctlOnal in a

Marine Riser AnalYSIS," ASME Proceedmgs of the Fifth
International Offshore Mechanics and Arctic
Engineering Symposium, pp. 466-470.
Irvine, H. M, (1981), Cable Structures, MIT Press,
Cambridge, Mass.
Leonard, J. W., (1972), "Curved Finite Element
Approximation to Nonlinear Cables," Proceedmgs of
the Fourth Annual Offshore Technology Conference,
Paper OTC 1533, Houston, Texas.
Leonard, J. W., (1988), Tension Structures: Behavior and
AnalYSIS, McGraw-Hill.
Migliore, H. J. and Webster, R. L., (1979), "Current Method
for Analyzing Dynamic Cable Response," Shock and
Vibration Digest, Vol. 11, No.6, June, pp. 3-16.
Migliore, H. J. and Webster, R L, (1982), "Current Methods
for Analyzing Dynamic Cable Response 1979 to
present," Shock and Vibration Digest, Vol. 14, No 9,
Sept, pp. 19-24
Peyrot, A. H., (1980), "Marme Cable Structures," Tournai of
Structural Division, ASCE, Vol. 106, No ST2, Dec, pp.
2391-2404.
Pode, L, (1951), "Tables for Computing the Equilibrium
Configuration of a Flexible Cable in a Uniform
Stream," Report 687, David Taylor Model Basin, Dept.
of the Navy, Washington, DC, Mar.
Seck-Hong, c., (1983), "Mechanics of Statics Catenary with
Current Loading," Tournai of Waterway, Port, Coastal
and Ocean Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 109, No 3, Aug.,
pp. 340-349.
Triantafyllou, M. S., (1982), "PrelIm mary DeSign of Mooring
Systems," TournaI of Ship Research, Vol. 28, No. 1,
March, pp. 25-35.
Webster, R L., (1975), "Nonlinear Static and Dynamic
R.es.ponse of Underwat;r Cable Structure Using the
Flmte Element Method,' Proceedings of the Seventh
Annual Offshore Technology Conference, Paper OTC
2322, Houston, Texas
Wilson, B. W, (1960), "Charactenstics of Anchor Cables m
Uniform Ocean Currents," Techmcal Report No. 204-1,
Texas A & M Research FoundatlOn, College Station,
Texas, Apr.
APPENDIX II - NOTATION
The following symbols are used in thiS paper:

Although the procedure IS for two dimensional cases

with a distributed load, concentrated loads resultmg from
mtermedlate buoys attached to the cable may be mcluded
Furthermore the method can be readIly extended to
dynamic analysis and to three dimensional cases

A
D
CDIV DDt

Fn , Ft
H
h
[KNLl
L

APPENDIX I - REFERENCES
Berteaux, H. 0, (1976), Buoy Engmeenng, John Wiley &
Sons, New York, NY, pp. 97-134
Cook, RD., (1981), Concepts and ApplicatIOns of Flmte
Element AnalYSIS, 2nd Edition, Wiley, pp. 78,356-359
Huang, T., (1984), "On Large Displacement Analysis of A
Class of Beams," ASCE Proceedings of the Fifth
Engineering Mechanics Specialty Conference, Aug, pp.
248-251
Huang, T and Chucheepsakul, S, (1985), "Large
Displacement Analysis of a Manne Riser," Tournai of
Energy Resources Technology, ASME, Vol 107, Mar,
pp 54-59.

t
LNJ
P
PIV P t

{ql
{Ql

s
T

TH
Vc

333

cross-sectional area of cable

diameter of cable
normal and tangential drag coefficient
normal and tangential current loadings
water depth
element height
nonlinear stiffness matnx
total arc length
element arc length
matnx of shape functlOn
distributed load parameter
normal and tangential components of distributed
load
local degrees of freedom
global degrees of freedom
arc length parameter
cable tension
cable top tension
current velOCity

normal and tangential components of current

velocity
weight of cable in air
submerged weight of cable
hOrIzontal coordinate or displacement
nonlinear and linear components of hOrIzontal
displacement
excurSlOn of cable at the top boundary
vertical coordinate or depth
variation symbol
inclination angle
functional
density of sea water

334