JAR Logo
 JAR Associates, Inc.
    Engineering the Future
 
|
|
|
|
 

                  Sitemap
 
 
Projects

 

General Industry

Design Refinement and Dynamic Analysis of an Underwater Plow

JAR performed a number of dynamic simulations to refine and optimize the design of an overload mechanism on an underwater plow. The plow is used to create a trench in the sea floor to lay fiber optic cable. The purpose of the overload mechanism is to sense that the plow has struck an immovable object, and to allow the plow to move over the object then reset for continued digging.
 
The client's initial Pro/ENGINEER design database was transferred to JAR to begin the analysis. The MECHANISM/Pro software was used to create and articulate the initial mechanism model, which was then transferred directly to ADAMS for complete dynamic analysis. The model was then enhanced using ADAMS/View to account for the many contact/impact forces, the soil drag and part-to-part friction forces, and the hydraulic cylinder behavior.
 
Aspects of the design which were optimized during the analytical effort include the geometry and stiffness of the reset springs, the shape and location of the cam surface which actuates the trip mechanism, and the length and force settings for the hydraulic cylinder. Finally, the predicted part-to-part force history for one complete impact/trip/reset cycle was used by the client to size several critical components of the mechanism.

 

 
© JAR Associates, Inc. 2013