Cable–sheave systems are commonly used on marine vessels for lifting and towing applications. As a result of the motion of the vessel, the cable can detach from the surface of the sheave. This paper presents a finite element model of a towed cable system based on the Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation. The model includes the interaction of the cable with the sheave surface in order to examine variations in the contact forces. Furthermore, a three-dimensional description of the sheave geometry is implemented in order to accurately model the contact forces as the vessel undergoes six degree-of-freedom motion. To assess the performance of the model, the simulated cable behavior is compared to small scale experimental measurements. Finally, a case study which demonstrates the simulated cable detachment behavior for a full scale system is discussed.

电缆滑轮系统通常用于船舶上的起重和拖曳应用。由于船舶的运动，电缆可能会从滑轮的表面脱落。本文提出了基于绝对节点坐标公式的拖曳电缆系统的有限元模型。该模型包括电缆与滑轮表面的相互作用，以检查接触力的变化。此外，实施了滑轮几何形状的三维描述，以便在船体经历六个自由度运动时精确地建模接触力。为了评估模型的性能，将模拟的电缆行为与小规模的实验测量结果进行了比较。最后，讨论了一个案例研究，该案例演示了全尺寸系统的模拟电缆分离行为。