TAUT GUIDELINE FOR OCEAN LOAD HANDLING SYSTEM, EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS.

Load suspension tests were conducted in approximately 1,000 feet of water to determine the feasibility of using a single taut guideline system to lower and position objects on the seafloor. Concrete spheres attached to a synthetic line were guided along a taut wire rope to various depths. A spacer bar was used to maintain constant distance between the test load and the guideline and to prevent line entanglement. During the tests, dynamic stresses in the load line and guideline, vertical acceleration of the ship, current speed and direction, load inclination, and load rotation about the taut line were measured. The results indicate that a single taut guideline system can be used in relatively calm waters to position objects on the seafloor repeatedly around the guideline anchor at a radius equivalent to the spacer length. During the tests, entanglement between the guideline and load line was not encountered. Dynamic stresses in the guided load line were similar to those of the unguided system. Author