Abstract
As the wind industry expands into remoter and deeper areas of the open sea with abundant wind energy, environmental loadings become harsher. This increases the requirements for submarine power cables (SPCs), which serve as the ‘lifeline’ for transporting electricity. Consequently, a more advanced design based on a thorough understanding of this structure is needed. However, the complex configuration and intensive contact issues within SPCs limit our understanding and make them black boxes for cable engineers. To gain more insights, methods for performing local mechanical analysis of SPCs are necessary. Despite this need, a comprehensive review of existing methods for local mechanical analysis of SPC is still lacking. Therefore, it is essential to review the available methods and provide guidelines for utilizing and developing these methods.
•Comprehensive Review: This paper presents a systematic review of experimental, analytical, and numerical methods for local mechanical analysis of submarine power cables (SPCs), filling a significant gap in the existing literature.•Practical Guidelines: By evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each method, the paper provides practical guidelines for engineers and researchers to effectively apply these methods in SPC design and analysis.•Identification of Critical Challenges: The review identifies key challenges such as complex contact pressures, simplification of helical wires, and handling of combined loading scenarios, offering valuable insights for future research.