Experimental Verification of Unwinding Behavior of Fiber-Optic Cable and Prediction of High-Speed Unwinding

Fiber-optic cables towed by underwater vehicles have an important role in enhancing the mission capability of a mother ship. In general, fiber optic cables are unwound in water for securing unwinding stability and preventing unwinding-related problems. Therefore, in this study, the numerically simulated result is verified against the experimental result in water, and the cable-unwinding motion is predicted based on the increase in unwinding velocity. The experimental apparatus is composed of a water tank and a winder, and a high-speed camera is used for photographing the cable-unwinding motion. The numerical result defined in the Cartesian coordinate system is solved using a transient-state unwinding equation of motion. The numerical result agrees well with the experimental result, and it can predict cable-unwinding behaviors in according to an increase in the unwinding velocity.