Kinematic optimization of an overboarding chute mechanism

I had the opportunity to develop my thesis during the Internship Program at F.lli Righini, a world leader in designing and manufacturing offshore equipment. I was tasked with improving the mechanical efficiency of an umbilical lay system. Instead of laying the cable on the sea floor, the Client wished to have it partially floating. A new system had to be devised whereby a number of buoyancy modules had to be installed on the cable itself, an operation complicated by the fact that it could not be performed by a traditional fixed chute. To solve this challenge, Righini suggested an innovative kinematic chute able to perform a certain rotation, thereby fully satisfying the requisites. The aim of this master thesis is to optimize this prototype system. A MATLAB code will be created to conduct a meticulous structural analysis of the kinematic chute, to see if the piston which activates the whole chute rotation can be optimized in terms of weight and cost.