A new generation undersea cable burial plow-a review of operational design goals

In mid-1999, the Advanced Technology Systems Division of General Dynamics (GD-ATS) will introduce a newly developed and innovative cable plow called Undersea Cable Plow (UCP). This vehicle is designed to install and bury undersea fiber optic telecommunications cables to a depth of 1.1 meters in most soils ranging from permeable silts to compacted sand and hard clay (up to 50 kPa), at operating speeds of up to 3 knots in water depths down to 1500 meters. UCP achieves this variable depth burial using a specially designed plowshare with a water-assisted jetting arrangement. This vehicle carries a unique, on-board Submerged Cable Engine (SCE) which provides both cable tension and slack management through articulation and compliance in its tracks resulting in product cable placement with minimal or no residual "as laid" tension. UCP is an optimized (less than 21 metric tons) vehicle that can be operated from smaller, less expensive platforms. It will allow for a smaller launch and recovery system, and utilize a single combined tow/umbilical cable. While swimming ROVs already use a single launch and recovery umbilical cable, this technology is new to the plow industry and serves to reduce the number of lines in the water and the unwanted problem of tangling that can occur with smaller diameter cables. These features, and a proposed vertical deployment scheme, should provide a high performance, low-cost cable burial technique for customers on future cable construction projects.