A New Multi-Body Dynamic Model of a Deep Ocean Mining Vehicle-Pipeline-Ship System and Simulation of Its Integrated Motion

In this paper, a three-dimensional multi-body dynamic model of a seafloor mining vehicle is developed in the RecurDyn simulation program by integrating the developed terramechanics model of the seafloor sediment. The discrete element method (DEM) is employed to model a mining pipeline as discrete rigid elements linked by flexible connectors. An innovative user-defined subroutine for parametrically and rapidly automatically building a DEM model for such long pipeline is developed in the C# language in RecurDyn. A new 3D multi-body dynamic model of a total deep ocean mining vehicle-pipeline-ship system is established with the integration of developed models for subsystems. The integrated motion simulations are achieved and demonstrate that the synchronized stable motion of the total system can be well maintained during operation processes.