Elastic responses of a flotation ring in water waves

The gravity-type fish cage is extensively applied in open-sea fishery aquaculture. Its practicality is closely related to the reliability of the flotation ring which is its main load-bearing component. Therefore, it is necessary to study the elastic responses of the flotation ring in ocean waves. Here, an analytical method is proposed to analyze the elastic deformations of a circular ring subjected to water waves. The governing equations of six degree-of-freedom motions and elastic deformations are obtained according to Euler's laws and curved beam theory. In order to examine the method, a series of physical model tests were carried out. The surge and heave displacements of the ring between the predicted results and experimental measurements are compared, and good correlation is represented. The effects of the propagation directions of the incident wave on elastic responses of the ring are then analyzed. It is concluded that small deformations of the ring occur when the configuration of the mooring cables is symmetrically arranged along the propagation direction of the incident waves. Additionally, the out-of-plane stiffness is suggested to be strengthened in order to diminish the corresponding deformations.