AUTHOR=Zhao Yunpeng , Xie Sida , Ma Chao 

TITLE=Experimental investigations on the hydrodynamics of a multi-body floating aquaculture platform exposed to sloping seabed environment

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1049769

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2022.1049769

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=The coastal area near islands has become a key area for aquaculture because of the long offshore distance and suitable wave conditions. There is a topographic change near the islands, and the reflected waves generated by this topography modify the wave field in the aquaculture area, which may cause structural damage to the offshore net cage. Most studies on the hydrodynamic characteristics of aquaculture structures do not consider the effects of topography. Therefore, we investigated the hydrodynamic characteristics and wave field of a multi-body floating aquaculture platform under the influence of ramp topography by leveraging a physical model approach. The results show that the low-frequency drift of the surge response of the cage on the weather side increases with the ramp effect. Moreover, the heave and pitch motions do not change significantly. The wave elevation inside the cage varies. When the incident wavelength is equal to the width of the cage, the wave breaking inside the cage on the weather side becomes more evident because of the ramp. The wave response gradually shifts from wave frequency to high frequency. Regarding the cage on the lee side, the wave response is positively correlated with the incident wavelength. The results of this study provide a reference for the design and optimization of aquaculture structures anchored near islands.