Aquaculture America 2026

February 16 - 19, 2026

Las Vegas, Nevada

Add To Calendar 18/02/2026 09:15:0018/02/2026 09:35:00America/Los_AngelesAquaculture America 2026EVALUATION OF STRESSES OF AN INTEGRATED MULTI-TROPHIC AQUACULTURE SYSTEM UNDER EXTREME OCEAN CONDITIONS FOR THE GULF OF AMERICAConcorde CThe World Aquaculture Societyjohnc@was.orgfalseDD/MM/YYYYanrl65yqlzh3g1q0dme13067

EVALUATION OF STRESSES OF AN INTEGRATED MULTI-TROPHIC AQUACULTURE SYSTEM UNDER EXTREME OCEAN CONDITIONS FOR THE GULF OF AMERICA

Md. Mamun R. Patwary*, Igor Tsukrov, Longhuan Zhu, Zachary Davonski, Michael Chambers and David W. Fredriksson

Center for Sustainable Seafood Systems

School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering

University of New Hampshire

Durham, NH 03824; David.Fredriksson@unh.edu

 



The Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) system to be deployed in the Gulf of America follows a similar platform design in Chambers et al. (2024). The system (Figure 1) is intended to accommodate multiple species, including red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica), and red seaweed (Gracilaria tikvahiae). Reliable prediction of the strength of the system requires detailed knowledge of stress distribution in its structural components. This work presents an approach to determine stresses in the system by combining hydrodynamic modeling with numerical stress reconstruction for all major components of the frame based on classical beam theory. Numerical simulations of hydrodynamic response to waves and currents are performed using Hydro-FE, a dynamic fluid–structure interaction software integrated with the Hexagon Marc solver. The hydrodynamic model includes mooring lines, buoys, structural frame, and net panels and accounts for fluid velocity reduction due to netting. Cross-sectional forces and moments on structural components determined from hydrodynamic analysis are used to generate 3D stress fields, enabling hot-spot identification and fatigue-ready stress histories (Figure 2). Storm scenarios with 1-year and 50-year return periods were simulated to provide insights into critical stress zones and to assess mooring adequacy.