Buoy Dynamics in Subsurface Zones

by Randy Guillen

Submitted : Spring 2009

The objective of this project was to find the tension acting on a line holding a buoy submerged just under the surface of the ocean. This involves using calculus to find the volume and surface area through integration of the volumes and surfaces of revolution formed by the specific parts of the buoy along an axis. This is because the problem statement only gives the geometric shapes and dimensions of the buoy. The volume and surface area were necessary to calculate the force of buoyancy and force of gravity; these are the two forces acting on the buoy that affected the tension in the line. After calculating this data, I was able to conclude that the tension affecting the line would be approximately 79kN if the buoy was made of 1% carbon steel with a thickness of 6.35 millimeters.

[ Back ]