Numerical simulation of undersea cable dynamics (Journal Article)

A fully three-dimensional code has been written to compute the motion of a towed cable. The code is based on a robust and stable finite difference approximation to the differential equations derived from basic dynamics. A 3500-ft cable pulled at 18.5 knots (hr/sup -1/) through a circular turn of 700 yd radius has been computed in about half of the real time of the maneuver. The computed displacements are close to the measured ones; the changes in depth are within 2%.