CONCLUSIONS 

 Based on the results of the basin experiments of the integrated towline 

 configurations, the following conclusions are made: 



1. A blunt nose integrated towline can be designed to tow in a satisfactory 

 manner. For the 8-18-F towline evaluated in this report, acceptable kiting 

 behavior is indicated by the low side-force coefficient of approximately 0.05. 

 The degree of kiting, however, will be influenced by such factors as depressor 

 tension, speed, scope and variation of asjnranetrles. Similarly, relatively low tow- 

 line drag is indicated by the normal drag coefficients which varied from approx- 

 imately 0.30 to 0.15 at Reynolds numbers from 2 x 10 to 6 x 10 , respectively. 



2. Alternating bevel truncation has little effect on the kiting characteris- 

 tics and the normal drag coefficient configurations of-the blunt nose towline 

 investigated in this report. 



3. Chordwise cuts tend to reduce towline kite with little effect on the 

 normal drag coefficient, but may increase the towline tangential drag. However, 

 reliability associated with these cuts has not been demonstrated. 



BIECOMMENDATIONS 



The following is recommended: 



1. Longer lengths of the blunt nose towline (based upon the 8-18-F geometry) 

 should be evaluated at-sea to verify the 8-18-F loading functions, normal drag and 

 side-force coefficients, and hydrodynamic stability determined during basin 

 evaluations. 



2c A series of towline samples based on the 8-18-F shape with systematic 

 variations of cross-sectional dimensions and material properties should be 

 evaluated to determine the interactive effects of hydrodynamic and structural 

 scaling on towline performance. 



3. If chordwise cuts are implemented to reduce towline kite, the reliability 

 of the towline should be investigated. 



38 



