Performance validation and dynamic response analysis of a deepwater cable bending restrictor

The deepwater cable bending restrictor is an important protective device for risers, umbilicals and cables in offshore engineering, protecting cable structure by controlling minimum bending radius. Its mechanical properties are analysed based on the numerical analysis model and finite element analysis (FEM) of ø175. The sensitivity analysis of using quantity of bending restrictors is also performed to show the effect of the quantity on bending stiffness. A testing scheme of bending stiffness of the bending restrictor is then formulated based on its structure. From numerical analysis results through test simulation, the tolerance is less than 3 %, which verifies the reliability of the numerical analysis model. Performance of the bending restrictor and dynamic response are analysed according to environmental parameters that occur once per 100 years from offshore wind power farms and pipein-pipe models, respectively. The results show the bending restrictor can effectively protect cable structure, and the pipein-pipe model is suitable for calculating mechanical properties of interaction between the bending restrictor and cable.