Experimental investigations on hydrodynamic interactions between the cylinder and nets of a typical offshore aquacultural structure in steady current

A series of physical experiments were performed in steady current to investigate the hydrodynamic interactions between the cylinder and nets which constitute a main part of offshore aquacultural platforms. The hydrodynamic characteristics of only the cylinder, only nets and combined cylinder-net structures are measured and analyzed systematically under different current velocities, inflow angles and solidity ratios of nets. Based on experimental data, fitted formulas for hydrodynamic coefficients of a single resin net are proposed and compared to previously published empirical formulas. It is observed that the existence of the cylinder brings an increment up to 9.2% to drag coefficient of net panels whose solidity ratios are higher than 0.347, whereas this effect is negligible for nets with lower solidity ratios and perpendicular to the inflow. For nets inclined with 45 degrees, the increment of the drag coefficient of net panels due to the existence of the cylinder is more significant (up to 22.9%) than that for perpendicularly placed nets. Furthermore, the existence of nets also leads to a noticeable increase in the drag coefficient of the cylinder, up to 40.18% for a relatively large net solidity ratio of 0.458, representative of biofouling condition. The increment increases with the rise of the solidity ratio of nets and it is larger for nets placed perpendicularly to the inflow than inclined. Effects of the cylinder and nets on lift coefficients of each other are a bit complicated, leading to an increase or reduction of lift coefficients depending on the inflow velocity, inflow angle and net solidity ratios. Finally, it is worth noting that the hydrodynamic interaction between the cylinder and nets deserves to be considered in current practice of hybrid methods by combining potential flow theory, Morison and screen models for aquacultural structures, especially for biofouling conditions.

Automated summary

A series of physical experiments were conducted to investigate the hydrodynamic interactions between a cylinder and nets on offshore aquacultural platforms. The experiments measured the hydrodynamic characteristics of the cylinder, nets, and combined cylinder-net structures under different conditions. The results showed that the cylinder increased the drag coefficient of net panels with high solidity ratios and inclined nets. The presence of nets also increased the drag coefficient of the cylinder, especially under biofouling conditions. The interaction between the cylinder and nets should be considered in the design of aquacultural structures, particularly for biofouling conditions.