Abstract: This paper presents a numerical analysis of the dynamic transient behaviors of undersea cables. In this numerical study, the governing equations based on Euler-Bernoulli beam theory are adopted, and they can satisfy many applications no matter what the magnitude of the cable tension is. The nonlinear coupled equations are solved by a popular central finite difference method, and the numerical results of transient behaviors are presented when several kinds of surrounding conditions, such as different towing speeds of surface vessel, different currents and waves with various frequencies and amplitudes, are exerted. Then a detailed comparison of the results, including the upper end tension and cable shape in time-domain, is made under the above external excitations, and finally the possible reasons for these are further explained. © 2011 Shanghai Jiaotong University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Key words: cable; finite difference method; low-tension; transient dynamic behaviors