Create a connector object

Create an object that describes mooring connector such as shackles, either by looking up a known object from the database, or by defining a new type. Area is formulated as height*width, for consistency with Dewey's Matlab code.

connector(
  model = "swivel",
  buoyancy = NULL,
  height = NULL,
  area = NULL,
  CD = NULL
)

Arguments

model

character value indicating the type of connector. There are three possibilities for model. (1) If this is "?", then the function returns a vector of permitted character values. (2) If this is "?X", where X is a set of characters, then findElement() is called to do a fuzzy search, with the search argument set to "connector". (3) If it is recognized, i.e. if that type is stored in data(mooringElements), then the that stored value is used, and all other arguments to this function are ignored. (4) Otherwise, a new connector object is created, using values specified in the other arguments (all of which must be supplied).

buoyancy

numeric value indicating buoyancy. For wire elements, this is buoyancy per length, expressed in kg/m. For other elements, it is buoyancy, expressed in kg. Note that buoyancy is ignored if model is recognized.

height

numeric value for the height (in m) of the element. This value is used in the computation of the mooring geometry. In some cases, as e.g. in Dewey-derived data that have "diameter" tabulated as zero, it is also used in the computation of the area of the element, as height*width. Note that height is ignored if model is recognized.

area

a numerical value indicating the horizontal instrument area in \(m^2\).

CD

numeric value (unitless) for the drag coefficient. Note that CD is ignored if model is recognized.

Value

connector returns a "mooringElement" object with "connector" subclass.

Details

Also, it is worth noting that there are built-in connector objects that might not be thought of as connectors, e.g. "ballast weight".

See also

Other functions that create mooring elements: anchor(), chain(), float(), instrument(), misc(), release(), wire()

Author

Dan Kelley

Examples

library(mooring)
# List known chain types
connector("?")
#>  [1] "1/2in SS link"            "1/2in galv link"         
#>  [3] "1/2in shac+3/8in shac"    "1/2in shackle"           
#>  [5] "1/2in swivel"             "1/4in nicopress sleeve"  
#>  [7] "1in shackle"              "3/4in shackle"           
#>  [9] "3/4in swivel"             "3/8in shackle"           
#> [11] "3T SeineSwivel"           "5/16in heavy SS thimbles"
#> [13] "5/8in shackle"            "7/16in shackle"          
#> [15] "ballast weight"           "shac-3link-shac"         
#> [17] "shac-Pring-shac"          "shac-ring-shac"          
#> [19] "swivel"