Method for Tensile Measurement of Stud-Less Mooring Chain

Tension of mooring chain is the principle characteristic for mooring system. Tensile value which derived from on-site mooring lines could be used for risk assessment, design evaluation etc. It is hard to obtain underwater tension of mooring chain by traditional method, such as strain gauge, FBG, etc. A new tensile measure method is present based on finite element analysis and shape characteristics of stud-less mooring chain. At first, deformation of stud-less mooring chains is analyzed by finite element method and Ansys software. Then, a design of tension-meter is developed on the basis of the deformation characteristic due to the above FEM analysis. Finally, a model calibrate is designed and tested to prove feasibility of present measurement method.