• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.14.1-14.14
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• 2020

We performed field measurements of the behavioral changes in cultured chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) caused by tide-induced changes in the shapes of their small-sized tetragonal fish cages. The field measurements were conducted in two separate periods: neap tide, a period in which the shape of the fish cages was stable; and spring tide, a period in which the fish cages are significantly deformed, which was expected to have significant influences on fish behavior. In the spring tide, the cages were deformed greatly by the moving water, with different water velocities affecting the cages to different degrees; the volume loss was estimated at 4.9% and 7.3% for v = 0.114 m/s and v = 0.221 m/s, respectively. The fish exhibited significantly different behaviors between the neap tide and spring tide. During the neap tide, the fish remained in the lower part of the cage, but during the spring tide they made frequent upward and downward movements, and their horizontal distribution changed significantly due to the changes in the shape of the cage. The cage deformation during the spring tide greatly influenced the swimming behavior of fish.

• Wind and Structures
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• 제36권1호
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• pp.31-40
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• 2023

This paper investigates the mechanical behavior of full-scale offshore fish cages under hydrodynamic loads. To simulate different cases, different materials were used in the fish cage and analyzed under different flow velocities. The cage system is studied in two parts: net cage and floating collar. Analyses were performed with the ANSYS Workbench program, which allows the Finite Element Method (FEM) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method to be used together. Firstly, the fish cage was designed, and adjusted for FSI: Fluid (Fluent) analysis. Secondly, mesh structures were created, and hydrodynamic loads acting on the cage elements were calculated. Finally, the hydrodynamic loads were transferred to the mechanical model and applied as a pressure on the geometry. In this study, the equivalent (von Mises) stress, equivalent strain, and total deformation values of cage elements under hydrodynamic loads were investigated. The data obtained from the analyses were presented as figures and tables. As a result, it has been shown that it is appropriate to use all the materials examined for the net cage and the floating collar.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.143-155
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• 2017

For complex flexible structures such as nets, the determination of drag forces and its deformation is a challenging task. The accurate prediction of loads on cages is one of the key steps in designing fish farm facilities. The basic physics with a simple cage, can be addressed by the use of experimental studies. However, to design more complex cage system for various environmental conditions, a reliable numerical simulation tool is essential. In this work, the current load on a cage is calculated using a Morison-force model applied at instantaneous positions of equivalent-net modeling. Variations of solidity ratio ($S_n$) of the net and current speed are considered. An equivalent array of cylinders is built to represent the physical netting. Based on the systematic comparisons between the published experimental data for Raschel nets and the current numerical simulations, carried out using the commercial software OrcaFlex, a new formulation for $C_d$ values, used in the equivalent-net model, is presented. The similar approach can also be applied to other netting materials following the same procedure. In case of high solidity ratio and current speed, the hybrid model defines $C_d$ as a function of Re (Reynolds number) and $S_n$ to better represent the corresponding weak diffraction effects. Otherwise, the conventional $C_d$ values depending only on Re can be used with including shielding effects for downstream elements. This new methodology significantly improves the agreement between numerical and experimental data.