• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 1973

For regulating the depth of midwater trawl nets towed at the optimum constant speed, the changes in the shape of warps caused by adding a weight on an arbitrary point of the warp of catenary shape is studied. The shape of a warp may be approximated by a catenary. The resultant inferences under this assumption were experimented. Accordingly feasibilities for the application of the result of this study to the midwater trawl nets were also discussed. A series of experiments for basic midwater trawl gear models in water tank and a couple of experiments of a commercial scale gears at sea which involve the properly designed depth control devices having a variable attitude horizontal wing were carried out. The results are summarized as follows: 1. According to the dimension analysis the depth y of a midwater trawl net is introduced by $$y=kLf(\frac{W_r}{R_r},\;\frac{W_o}{R_o},\;\frac{W_n}{R_n})$$) where k is a constant, L the warp length, f the function, and $W_r,\;W_o$ and $W_n$ the apparent weights of warp, otter board and the net, respectively, 2. When a boat is towing a body of apparent weight $W_n$ and its drag $D_n$ by means of a warp whose length L and apparent weight $W_r$ per unit length, the depth y of the body is given by the following equation, provided that the shape of a warp is a catenary and drag of the warp is neglected in comparison with the drag of the body: $$y=\frac{1}{W_r}\{\sqrt{{D_n^2}+{(W_n+W_rL)^2}}-\sqrt{{D_n^2+W_n}^2\}$$ 3. The changes ${\Delta}y$ of the depth of the midwater trawl net caused by changing the warp length or adding a weight ${\Delta}W_n$_n to the net, are given by the following equations: $${\Delta}y{\approx}\frac{W_n+W_{r}L}{\sqrt{D_n^2+(W_n+W_{r}L)^2}}{\Delta}L$$ $${\Delta}y{\approx}\frac{1}{W_r}\{\frac{W_n+W_rL}{\sqrt{D_n^2+(W_n+W_{r}L)^2}}-{\frac{W_n}{\sqrt{D_n^2+W_n^2}}\}{\Delta}W_n$$ 4. A change ${\Delta}y$ of the depth of the midwater trawl net by adding a weight $W_s$ to an arbitrary point of the warp takes an equation of the form $${\Delta}y=\frac{1}{W_r}\{(T_{ur}'-T_{ur})-T_u'-T_u)\}$$ Where $$T_{ur}^l=\sqrt{T_u^2+(W_s+W_{r}L)^2+2T_u(W_s+W_{r}L)sin{\theta}_u$$ $$T_{ur}=\sqrt{T_u^2+(W_{r}L)^2+2T_uW_{r}L\;sin{\theta}_u$$ $$T_{u}^l=\sqrt{T_u^2+W_s^2+2T_uW_{s}\;sin{\theta}_u$$ and $T_u$ represents the tension at the point on the warp, ${\theta}_u$ the angle between the direction of $T_u$ and horizontal axis, $T_u^2$ the tension at that point when a weights $W_s$ adds to the point where $T_u$ is acted on. 5. If otter boards were constructed lighter and adequate weights were added at their bottom to stabilize them, even they were the same shapes as those of bottom trawls, they were definitely applicable to the midwater trawl gears as the result of the experiments. 6. As the results of water tank tests the relationship between net height of H cm velocity of v m/sec, and that between hydrodynamic resistance of R kg and the velocity of a model net as shown in figure 6 are respectively given by $$H=8+\frac{10}{0.4+v}$$ $$R=3+9v^2$$ 7. It was found that the cross-wing type depth control devices were more stable in operation than that of the H-wing type as the results of the experiments at sea. 8. The hydrodynamic resistance of the net gear in midwater trawling is so large, and regarded as nearly the drag, that sweeping depth of the gear was very stable in spite of types of the depth control devices. 9. An area of the horizontal wing of the H-wing type depth control device was $1.2{\times}2.4m^2$. A midwater trawl net of 2 ton hydrodynamic resistance was connected to the devices and towed with the velocity of 2.3 kts. Under these conditions the depth change of about 20m of the trawl net was obtained by controlling an angle or attack of $30^{\circ}$.