A series of physical model experiments was performed to investigate the hydrodynamic responses of a semi-submersible offshore fish farm in waves. The structural configuration of the fish farm primarily refers to that of the world’s first offshore fish farm, Ocean Farm 1, developed by SalMar in Norway. The mooring line tension and motion response of the fish farm were measured at three draughts. The study indicated that the tension on the windward mooring line is greater than that on the leeward mooring line. As the wave height increases, the mooring line tension and motion responses including the heave, surge, and pitch exhibit an upward trend. The windward mooring line tension decreased slightly with increasing draught. The existence of net resulted in approximately 42% reduction in mooring line tension and approximately 51% reduction in surge motion. However, the heave and pitch of the fish farm increased slightly with the existence of net. It was found that the wave parameters, draught, and net have noticeable effect on the hydrodynamic response. Thus, these factors are suggested to be considered in structural designs and optimization to guarantee the ability of the fish farm to resist destruction and ensure safety of workers during intense waves.

This study on hydrodynamic coefficients of a column-stabilized fish cage under wave action plays an important role in the anti-wave design of cages. The regular wave test was used to study the horizontal wave force of the jacket and column-stabilized fish cage under different wave heights, periods, and incident angles; the finite element model of the jacket and the column-stabilized fish cage was established according to the test model. On the basis of the calculation of the finite element model, combined with the wave force obtained from the experiment, the hydrodynamic coefficients of the structure was fitted by the least squares method, and then the drag force, inertial force, and total force of the structure under different conditions were calculated. The results show that the hydrodynamic coefficients of the jacket and netting under the wave condition were more obvious with the change of the KC number and wave incident angles. And as the wave height increased, the drag force, the inertial force, and the proportion of the drag force to the horizontal wave force both increased. When the wavelength was large, the same trend occured as the wave period increased. When the wave incident angles were different, the forces of the jacket and the column-stabilized fish cage were always small in lateral low-frequency waves, which is consistent with the change law of hydrodynamic coefficients of the jacket and netting.

Knotless nets have been extensively used in sea cages and offshore fish farms; the explicit illustrations of local flow patterns and subjected hydrodynamic loads have practical implications for the safe operations of aquaculture pens in open oceans. However, the effects of inclination angles of knotless nets on local flow patterns have not yet been fully discussed. In this paper, the effects of inclination angles on local time-averaged and instantaneous flow fields, velocity reductions and force coefficients are investigated using a $k-\omega$ shear stress transport-improved delayed detached eddy simulation (SST-IDDES) high-fidelity turbulence model. It is demonstrated that the inclination angles have dominant effects on the time-averaged velocity magnitudes around the net meshes. Secondly, the considerable flow interactions amongst the transverse and longitudinal net meshes, as well as cross-flow effects, are observed but weakened with the inclination angles. Thirdly, the profiles of velocity decelerations behind the net panels for 0${}^{\circ }$–45${}^{\circ }$ are not as trivial as those for 45${}^{\circ }$–90${}^{\circ }$. The associations between the embedded mechanism of subjected loads and pressure fields are established to analyse the current loads on nets in small inclination angles. The inclination angles are finally elaborated into the area-averaged velocity reduction and screen force models, then the improved characteristics are validated against the experimental data.

Enclosure aquaculture is a healthy and ecological aquaculture pattern developed in recent years to relieve the pressure due to the wild fish stock decline and water pollution. The object of this paper was a floating rope enclosure, which mainly consisted of floaters, mooring lines, sinkers and a net. In order to optimize mooring design factors, the hydrodynamic responses of the floating rope enclosure with different mooring systems in combined wave-current were investigated by experimental and numerical methods. Physical model experiments with a model scale of 1:50 were performed to investigate the hydrodynamic characteristics of a floating rope enclosure with 12 mooring lines. Based on the lumped mass method, the numerical model was established to investigate the effects of mooring design factors on the mooring line tension, force acting on the bottom, and the volume retention of the floating rope enclosure. Through the analysis of numerical and experimental results, it was found that the maximum mooring line tension of the floating rope enclosure occurs on both sides of the windward. Increasing the number of mooring lines on the windward side is helpful to reduce the maximum mooring line tension. Waves and current both have an influence on the mooring line tension; in contrast, currents have a more obvious effect on the mooring line tension than waves. However, the influence of the wave period on the maximum mooring line tension is small. The force endured by the bottom of the floating rope enclosure also changes periodically with the wave period. Yet, the maximum force endured by the bottom of floating rope enclosure occurred at the windward and leeward of the structure. The volume retention of the floating rope enclosure increased with the increasing amount of mooring lines.