PSI - Issue 77

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 77 (2026) 248–255 Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2026) 000–000 Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2026) 000–000

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© 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of ICSI organizers Abstract Submarine power cables are composed of multiple components with di ff erent, sometimes non-linear, mechanical behaviour, ar ranged in a helical geometry. This paper proposes a novel experimental method for characterising the non-linear response of a three-core o ff shore submarine power cable to imposed bending. A cyclic three-point bending test was performed, during which the cable’s motion was recorded using a 3D optical measurement system to capture its deflected shape. A polynomial function was fitted to the deflected shape to compute the bending curvature, and the actuator force was used to determine the corresponding bending moment. This approach enables the characterization of bending sti ff ness in both stick and slip regimes, which are required for the evaluation of mechanical degradation due to cyclic bending. The experimental results provide valuable data for the future calibration of finite element models, supporting more accurate and reliable simulations of submarine power cables. © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http: // creativecommons.org / licenses / by-nc-nd / 4.0 / ) Peer-review under responsibility of ICSI organizers. Keywords: Power Cables; O ff shore Wind; Fatigue International Conference on Structural Integrity Characterisation of Non-Linear Bending Sti ff ness of a Submarine Power Cable through Cyclic Bending Esteban Cadavid Gil a, ∗ , Kris Hectors a,b , Wim De Waele a,b a Ghent University / OWI-Lab, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Electromechanical, Systems, and Metal Engineering, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 46, Gent B-9052, Belgium b FlandersMake@UGent – corelab MIRO, Belgium Abstract Submarine power cables are composed of multiple components with di ff erent, sometimes non-linear, mechanical behaviour, ar ranged in a helical geometry. This paper proposes a novel experimental method for characterising the non-linear response of a three-core o ff shore submarine power cable to imposed bending. A cyclic three-point bending test was performed, during which the cable’s motion was recorded using a 3D optical measurement system to capture its deflected shape. A polynomial function was fitted to the deflected shape to compute the bending curvature, and the actuator force was used to determine the corresponding bending moment. This approach enables the characterization of bending sti ff ness in both stick and slip regimes, which are required for the evaluation of mechanical degradation due to cyclic bending. The experimental results provide valuable data for the future calibration of finite element models, supporting more accurate and reliable simulations of submarine power cables. © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http: // creativecommons.org / licenses / by-nc-nd / 4.0 / ) Peer-review under responsibility of ICSI organizers. Keywords: Power Cables; O ff shore Wind; Fatigue International Conference on Structural Integrity Characterisation of Non-Linear Bending Sti ff ness of a Submarine Power Cable through Cyclic Bending Esteban Cadavid Gil a, ∗ , Kris Hectors a,b , Wim De Waele a,b a Ghent University / OWI-Lab, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Electromechanical, Systems, and Metal Engineering, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 46, Gent B-9052, Belgium b FlandersMake@UGent – corelab MIRO, Belgium

1. Introduction 1. Introduction

O ff shore wind farms represent a key sustainable energy solution, with submarine power cables playing a vital role in transmitting electricity from turbines to o ff shore substations and onward to shore (Fang et al., 2024; Shen et al., 2024). For water depths of less than 50 m, bottom-fixed foundations are typically employed, with static power cables designed to withstand tensile and bending loads within specified limits, which disqualifies them from operating under significant variable loading conditions (Thies et al., 2016). In deeper water, where bottom-fixed foundations are im practical despite higher wind resources, floating o ff shore wind turbines have attracted increasing attention in recent years (Koh and Ng, 2016; Wu et al., 2019). These turbines rely on dynamic power cables subjected to cyclic load- O ff shore wind farms represent a key sustainable energy solution, with submarine power cables playing a vital role in transmitting electricity from turbines to o ff shore substations and onward to shore (Fang et al., 2024; Shen et al., 2024). For water depths of less than 50 m, bottom-fixed foundations are typically employed, with static power cables designed to withstand tensile and bending loads within specified limits, which disqualifies them from operating under significant variable loading conditions (Thies et al., 2016). In deeper water, where bottom-fixed foundations are im practical despite higher wind resources, floating o ff shore wind turbines have attracted increasing attention in recent years (Koh and Ng, 2016; Wu et al., 2019). These turbines rely on dynamic power cables subjected to cyclic load-

2452-3216 © 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of ICSI organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2026.01.033 ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: + 32-465-550-336. E-mail address: esteban.cadavidgil@ugent.be 2210-7843 © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http: // creativecommons.org / licenses / by-nc-nd / 4.0 / ) Peer-review under responsibility of ICSI organizers. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: + 32-465-550-336. E-mail address: esteban.cadavidgil@ugent.be 2210-7843 © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http: // creativecommons.org / licenses / by-nc-nd / 4.0 / ) Peer-review under responsibility of ICSI organizers.