Development of an efficient general purpose cable model and simulation for marine applications

This paper develops a general numerical model and efficient integration routine to predict the response of the underwater cable that connects the Lockheed Martin remote minehunting vehicle to its variable depth sensor. The general model is developed from continuous cable equations that are discretized using a finite element method with linear elements. The resulting discrete system of equations is nonlinear and stiff. Thus, we chose the implicit Generalized-α method to integrate these equations because it possesses numerical dissipation. This integration routine is coded into a PC based numerical simulation and the results and efficiency were compared with those from the Runge-Kutta method. Based on the validation test cases, the Generalized-α method proved to be an efficient and reliable integration method for stiff equations governing the motion of underwater cables.