Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Ahead of Print.
Cable ploughing is an important technique for burying and protecting offshore cables. The ability to predict the required tow force and plough performance is essential to allow vessel selection and project programming. Existing tow force models require calibration against full-scale field testing to determine empirical parameters, a requirement that may hinder their use. In this study the factors controlling the plough resistance were investigated using a series of dry and saturated 1/50th scale model cable plough tests in sand in a geotechnical centrifuge at 50g at a range of target trench depths, sand relative densities, and plough velocities. An improved model for predicting cable plough tow force that separates out the key components of resistance and allows tow force prediction without the use of field-derived empirical coefficients is presented. It is demonstrated that the key parameters in this model can be easily determined from in situ cone penetration tests (CPTs), allowing it to be used offshore where site investigation techniques may be more limited compared to onshore locations. The model is validated against the centrifuge cable plough tests, demonstrating it can correctly predict both the static (dry) and rate effect (saturated) tow forces.

中文翻译：

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基于离心机模型测试的电缆犁性能预测锥入度测试 (CPT) 方法

加拿大岩土工程杂志，提前印刷。
电缆刨削是埋设和保护海上电缆的一项重要技术。预测所需牵引力和犁性能的能力对于允许船舶选择和项目编程至关重要。现有的牵引力模型需要针对全尺寸现场测试进行校准以确定经验参数，这一要求可能会阻碍其使用。在这项研究中，使用一系列干和饱和 1/50 比例模型电缆犁试验在土工离心机中以 50g 的砂土在一定范围的目标沟槽深度、砂相对密度和犁速度下研究了控制犁阻力的因素。提出了一种用于预测电缆犁牵引力的改进模型，该模型分离出阻力的关键分量，并允许在不使用场派生经验系数的情况下预测牵引力。事实证明，该模型中的关键参数可以通过原位锥入度测试 (CPT) 轻松确定，从而使其能够在现场调查技术与陆上位置相比更为有限的海上使用。该模型针对离心电缆犁试验进行了验证，表明它可以正确预测静态（干）和速率效应（饱和）牵引力。允许它在海上使用，与陆上位置相比，现场调查技术可能更加有限。该模型针对离心电缆犁试验进行了验证，表明它可以正确预测静态（干）和速率效应（饱和）牵引力。允许它在海上使用，与陆上位置相比，现场调查技术可能更加有限。该模型针对离心电缆犁试验进行了验证，表明它可以正确预测静态（干）和速率效应（饱和）牵引力。