Water-tank experiment and static numerical analysis of the mooring system of a controllable depth cage

Recent variations in marine environments have increased the risk of aquaculture accidents at sea. This risk can be reduced by installing fish cages at the desired depth, based on environmental conditions such as wave height, the vertical profiles of water temperature, algal concentration, and dissolved oxygen concentration. Most submergible fish cages can be located at only two depths: the sea surface and a submerged depth. In the present study, a fish cage installed at various depths, i.e., a controllable depth cage (CDC), is proposed for avoiding undesirable environments. A water tank experiment is conducted to measure the drag of the cage and the static deformation of the mooring system using a scale model of the actual cage. Then, a simple numerical model based on the balance of forces on each component is developed to analyze the position and the attitude of the cage and the mooring tension of the system. The numerical model is verified by comparing the experimental and numerical results. The outcome showed that the cage and floats moved downstream at an increasing velocity. The results of the numerical simulation supported those of the water tank experiment. However, the simulated vertical positions of a cage and floats were higher compared with experimental results. Additionally, the inclination of angle increased alongside increasing velocity in the numerical simulation, whereas a complex variation was observed in the experiment. This happened because of underestimating the drag on the mooring rope in lower water current velocities; additionally, cage lift was not considered in the numerical model. Despite these discrepancies, the tension of each mooring rope was well predicted because of the dominant tension of the horizontal component. In future studies, the balance of forces on the rope should be predicted more precisely, and variations in cage drag and inclination angle should be included in the numerical model. Additionally, the effect of waves should be considered alongside water currents to ensure the safety of the CDC.