Study on the Influence of Mesh Grouping on Numerical Simulation Results of Fish Cages

The Morison Model is widely applied in the numerical simulation for the hydrodynamics assessment of fish cage. In the Morison model, hydrodynamic forces are calculated based on twines. To reduce the computational time, mesh grouping methods (replacement of multiple meshes with less number of equivalent meshes) have been implemented widely in the calculation. However, as the hydrodynamic equation for a mesh is quite different under wave and current, it is not appropriate to use the classical mesh grouping. On the basis of basic hydrodynamic equations of the meshes with current and wave, this paper carried out the study about theoretical analysis of two methods (the equivalent area method and the equivalent volume method) of the mesh grouping, using main parameters of nets such as the diameter, solidity ratio and elastic modulus related to mesh grouping. A single-point mooring cage, of which tension and displacement could be calculated with finite element method, was selected as a case to carry out the verification of two mesh grouping methods. Flume model experiment was used to validate the accuracy of mesh grouping methods. The results indicated that, the equivalent area method has a higher accuracy in the pure current condition, while the equivalent volume method was more accurate in combined waves and current. The accuracy of results using mesh grouping to analyze hydrodynamics of nets within a certain range of grouping times could be insured with an improved calculation speed. This paper can provide practical advice on the mesh grouping process in the numerical simulation of fish cages and fishing gear.