Cable fairing

A cable fairing is a structure attached to a towed cable designed to streamline the flow around the cable, primarily in marine environments.

Cables are faired primarily for two reasons: (1) to reduce normal drag and thus achieve more depth for a given cable scope and speed; and (2) to eliminate cable vibration caused by vortex shedding, commonly known as cable strum.

Types of cable fairing

There are several major types of cable fairing:

All cables (faired or unfaired) have hydrodynamic loading functions. These describe the variation in drag coefficient as a function of angle with respect to the flow. As an example, the loading function for the normal drag coefficient of an unfaired cable, represented as a flexible circular cylinder, is ( means that the cable is normal to the flow).