Dynamical analysis of net cage structures for marine aquaculture: Numerical simulation and model testing

A numerical model for analyzing dynamic properties of a net-cage system exposed in the open sea is proposed. The model is based on a lumped-mass method. In this model, the mooring lines are divided into linear elements and the net cage divided into several plane surface elements. The interconnected points or corners are called nodes or lumped-mass centers. The external force is calculated on each element and then equally distributed to its nodes. By adding the contributed forces from the neighboring elements, a system of motion equations for nodes is formed. The volume reduction coefficient of a net cage is estimated by the ratio of minimum volume of net cage during fluid and structure interaction to the original volume. In general, the numerical results are in good agreements with the experimental data. However, the results also show that if the Reynolds number is lower than the suggested range of 1400-1800, the numerical model may underestimate the environmental forces on a net-cage system.