1. Seafloor Spring Contact

The seafloor contact formulation includes

  • contact normal to the seafloor modelled by springs

  • in-plane contact modelled by a combination of springs and frictional forces.

For sea floor normal contact the specification consists of

  • Normal stiffness

  • Normal damping

For sea floor normal in-plane contact in axial direction the specification consists of

  • Axial stiffness

  • Axial friction

  • Axial damping

For sea floor normal in-plane contact in lateral direction the specification consists of

  • Lateral stiffness

  • Lateral friction

  • Lateral damping


  • As default, the lateral contact forces (spring or friction forces) are applied at the centerline of the element. Optionally, the lateral forces mat be applied at the external contact radius, thus also also applying a torsional load contribution.