Cable fairing

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A cable fairing is a structure attached to a towed cable designed to streamline the flow around the cable, primarily in marine environments.

Contents

Cables are faired primarily for two reasons: (1) to reduce normal drag and thus achieve more depth for a given cable scope and speed; and (2) to eliminate cable vibration caused by vortex shedding, commonly known as cable strum. [1]

Another approach is to design a cable with a streamlined profile in order to share the load chordwise and reduce the frontal section. [2]

Types of cable fairing

There are several major types of cable fairing:

All cables (faired or unfaired) have hydrodynamic drag coefficient and loading functions. [7] These describe the variation in drag/lift coefficients (or normal/tangential force coefficients) as a function of angle with respect to the flow. As an example, the loading function for the normal drag coefficient of an unfaired cable, represented as a flexible circular cylinder, is ( means that the cable is normal to the flow).

Performance

Cylindrical cables have drag coefficient above 1.1 (higher when strumming).

Aspect ratio of fairings is limited by stability issues. Fairings section tested in basin can lower the drag coefficients to 0.02, but drag coefficients around 0.2 are known to have been reached at sea [8] .


Operational complexities

Fairing a cable can increase the complexity of the handling system. An unfaired cable can be wrapped many times on a winch drum. Some types of faired cable may only permit a single wrap.[ citation needed ]

Furthermore, many types of hard fairing require the use of anti-stacking rings. [9] When under tension, the diameter of a steel-armored cable gets smaller. This in turn would cause the fairing sections to loosen and slide down the cable (until they “stack” at the aft end) without the use of the anti-stacking rings.[ citation needed ]

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References

  1. R. D. Blevins, "Flow-Induced Vibration" (Second Edition). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990, p. 91.
  2. Patent US1756972A, Wire strand, Conner 1926
  3. Patent 4,567,841 “Fairing assembly for towed underwater cables.”
  4. Patent 3,696,599 “Cable fairing system.”
  5. [https://patents.google.com/patent/US11958570B1/en Patent Sandwich cable fairing apparatus and method with a central damping layer, US11958570B1, Coakley 2021
  6. Patent 4,084,065 “Antistrumming cable.”
  7. R. Folb, “Experimental determination of hydrodynamic loading functions for ten cable fairing models.” Report number DTNSRDC-R-4610, David W. Taylor Naval Ship Research & Development Center, 1975.
  8. [https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA071543.pdf Experimental determination of the hydrodynamic loading function for sectional type fairing
  9. A. Mech, “Development of an axial load bearing ring for use on double-served strength member electromechanical marine cable.” Oceans17, 1001, 1985.