Evaluation of the structural strength and failure for floating collar of a single-point mooring fish cage based on finite element method

Deep-water fish cage floating collar also referred to as float, bears a load in the form of waves, fishing nets, and moorings, in which the longitudinal wave force is the main type of loading. The long-term continuous effects caused by wave force could cause reduction in strength, or vibration failure in the floating collar. In this study, the peak responses of a single-point mooring (SPM) cage floating collar, due to either static or vibration loadings, were calculated by the finite element method (FEM) based on an elastic model. In this model, the float exhibited macro-plastic deformation when the stress of 26.1 MPa, generated under 100 kN load, was greater than the yield limit (25 MPa). With the increase in order modes from 1 to 18 (1.2–7.9 Hz), the stress increased. Moreover, the harmonic stress corresponding to 8 and 0.1 Hz was clearly higher than that for 0 Hz under 100 kN loads, due to structural resonance. The range of stress values due to the random vibration was 16.0–63.7 MPa, when the angular velocities (k) were in the range of 0.01–16 rad s―1. Moreover, the transient response (34.4 MPa) was maximum when the angular velocity was 10 rad s―1 (range 1–100 rad s―1). The reliability rate of the entire body was 53.1% and 97.0% after 108 loading cycles for 100 kN and 10 kN loads, respectively. Furthermore, the fatigue modes of the key components were determined from the outer triangular tops and inner hexagonal intersections. In short, static analysis, vibration analysis, and fatigue analysis of FEM could be used as reliable ways to evaluate structural strength and failure for floating system. Finally, the floating parts could be strengthened with partially double pipes or optimized by increasing the stiffness, and appropriate damping could be widely used.