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Tension Link to Protect Ocean Monitoring Platforms

Real-Time Monitoring of Offshore Mooring Cables

An ocean monitoring organization set out to understand how wind and waves impact the mooring cables that secure their offshore platforms. During extreme weather, the stress on these cables is invisible. If the mooring system fails, the entire suite of monitoring equipment and sensors could be lost. ANYLOAD’s 110BH Tension Link Load Cell was customized to provide the durability and accuracy needed to monitor the cable tension in this harsh marine environment.

Challenge

  1. Harsh Underwater Conditions: At 30 m depth underwater (approx. 42 psi / 3.8 bar), the sensors must withstand constant pressure, low temperatures, and long‑term exposure to seawater without leakage or performance degradation.
  2. Corrosion and Fatigue: Standard metallic materials are vulnerable to stress‑corrosion cracking when subjected to prolonged seawater immersion and continuous dynamic loading.
  3. Underwater Communication: Wireless communication is unreliable due to signal loss and wave interference, making it difficult to transmit stable, real‑time data from offshore platforms.

Solution

  1. Vacuum-Sealed Electronics: The sensor’s internal cavity is vacuum‑treated to prevent condensation, ensuring stable readings in cold, high‑pressure environments. Customized seals rated for 30 m depths provide long‑term protection against leakage.
  2. 17-4PH Stainless Steel Construction: Precipitation‑hardened 17‑4PH stainless steel was used, providing high yield strength and superior corrosion resistance for long‑term submerged performance. The sensors demonstrated exceptional linearity and data stability under prolonged dynamic loading.
  3. Wired Real-Time Transmission: Specialized watertight signal cables delivered continuous, interference‑free data directly to the platform’s monitoring system.
  4. Physical Verification Testing: In-house water pressure chamber at ANYLOAD facility simulated 3.8 bar underwater to validate performance at rated depth.

Conclusion

Leveraging ANYLOAD’s high‑performance 17‑4PH tension links, a real-time system was developed to monitor the mooring cable conditions. During a severe hurricane event, the system successfully alerted operators to rising cable loads, allowing them to take corrective action before damage occurred. Continuous monitoring also enabled a shift from scheduled cable replacement to condition‑based maintenance, significantly reducing operational risk and extending system life.

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Keywords:
Deep‑Sea Sensing, High-Pressure Aquatic Environments, Low-Temperature Tolerance, Ocean, Real‑Time Monitoring, 17‑4PH, Data Buoy

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CUSTOM 110BH
Tension Link Load Cell
See standard version.

The ANYLOAD 110BH is a tension link load cell manufactured from nickel-plated alloy steel, featuring a patented design built for reliable tension force measurement across a wide capacity range — from 1t to 120t. Its compact, symmetrical through-hole body accepts standard shackles at both ends, making it well suited for crane scales, overhead lifting and rigging systems, mooring and anchor line monitoring, and structural load testing applications where inline tension measurement is required.

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