Insight into the on-bottom stability of cables

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Subsea cables play a vital role in offshore wind farms. Demand in the energy sector has increased and on-bottom stability of cables is critical for integrity during wind farm construction phases and when cable cannot be buried due to seabed conditions. Assessing the on-bottom stability of cable is becoming more crucial, especially when different construction phases of the project are running in parallel and predecessor activity is delayed. The most common scenarios are the temporary wet storage conditions of cable ends before pull-in due to OSS installation completion, or temporary wet storage conditions of cable after cut and sealing prior to a cable repair. This paper presents insight into the fundamentals of on-bottom stability of subsea cables and provides results from parametric studies using numerical assessment undertaken with advanced computational methods using ORCINA Orcaflex software. A parametric study using numerical analyses was undertaken to investigate the on-bottom stability of three different cables varying in diameter (from 103 mm to 256 mm) at three different water depths under two different sets of metocean conditions in rocky seabed. Results from these parametric studies is summarized in plots that enable quick preliminary assessment of on-bottom stability for typical cables. This paper would be a useful resource to cable engineers and developers to assess the on-bottom stability of cables at the early stages of a project.

5th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics (ISFOG2025)

15 - Mooring lines, Cables, Pipelines, Immersed tunnels and Risers