scholarly journals Hydroelasticity effects on water-structure impacts

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Mai ◽  
C. Mai ◽  
A. Raby ◽  
D. M. Greaves

Abstract Local and global loadings, which may cause the local damage and/or global failure and collapse of offshore structures and ships, are experimentally investigated in this study. The research question is how the elasticity of the structural section affects loading during severe environmental conditions. Two different experiments were undertaken in this study to try to answer this question: (i) vertical slamming impacts of a square flat plate, which represents a plate section of the bottom or bow of a ship structure, onto water surface with zero degree deadrise angle; (ii) wave impacts on a truncated vertical wall in water, where the wall represents a plate section of a hull. The plate and wall are constructed such that they can be either rigid or elastic by virtue of a specially designed spring system. The experiments were carried out in the University of Plymouth’s COAST Laboratory. For the cases considered here, elasticity of the impact plate and/or wall has an effect on the slamming and wave impact loads. Here the slamming impact loads (both pressure and force) were considerably reduced for the elastic plate compared to the rigid one, though only at high impact velocities. The total impact force on the elastic wall was found to reduce for the high aeration, flip-through and slightly breaking wave impacts. However, the impact pressure decreased on the elastic wall only under flip-through wave impact. Due to the elasticity of the plates, the impulse of the first positive phase of pressure and force decreases significantly for the vertical slamming impact tests. This significant effect of hydroelasticity is also found for the total force impulse on the vertical wall under wave impacts. Graphic abstract Hydroelasticity effects on water-structure impacts: a impact pressures on dropped plates; b impact forces on dropped plates; c, d, e, f wave impact pressures on the vertical walls; g wave impact forces on the vertical walls; h wave force impulses on the vertical walls: elastic wall 1 vs. rigid wall (filled markers); elastic wall 2 vs. rigid wall (empty markers)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel de Oliveira Costa ◽  
Julia Araújo Perim ◽  
Bruno Guedes Camargo ◽  
Joel Sena Sales Junior ◽  
Antonio Carlos Fernandes ◽  
...  

Abstract Slamming events due to wave impact on the underside of decks might lead to severe and potentially harmful local and/or global loads in offshore structures. The strong nonlinearities during the impact require a robust method for accessing the loads and hinder the use of analytical models. The use of computation fluid dynamics (CFD) is an interesting alternative to estimate the impact loads, but validation through experimental data is still essential. The present work focuses on a flat-bottomed model fixed over the mean free surface level submitted to regular incoming waves. The proposal is to reproduce previous studies through CFD and model tests in a different reduced scale to provide extra validation and to identify possible non-potential scale effects such as air compressibility. Numerical simulations are performed in both experiments’ scales. The numerical analysis is performed with a marine dedicated flow solver, FINE™/Marine from NUMECA, which features an unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) solver and a finite volume method to build spatial discretization. The multiphase flow is represented through the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method for incompressible and nonmiscible fluids. The new model tests were performed at the wave channel of the Laboratory of Waves and Currents (LOC/COPPE – UFRJ), at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.


Author(s):  
Anne M. Fullerton ◽  
Thomas C. Fu ◽  
Edward S. Ammeen

Impact loads from waves on vessels and coastal structures are highly complex and may involve wave breaking, making these changes difficult to estimate numerically or empirically. Results from previous experiments have shown a wide range of forces and pressures measured from breaking and non-breaking waves, with no clear trend between wave characteristics and the localized forces and pressures that they generate. In 2008, a canonical breaking wave impact data set was obtained at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, by measuring the distribution of impact pressures of incident non-breaking and breaking waves on one face of a cube. The effects of wave height, wavelength, face orientation, face angle, and submergence depth were investigated. A limited number of runs were made at low forward speeds, ranging from about 0.5 to 2 knots (0.26 to 1.03 m/s). The measurement cube was outfitted with a removable instrumented plate measuring 1 ft2 (0.09 m2), and the wave heights tested ranged from 8–14 inches (20.3 to 35.6 cm). The instrumented plate had 9 slam panels of varying sizes made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and 11 pressure gages; this data was collected at 5 kHz to capture the dynamic response of the gages and panels and fully resolve the shapes of the impacts. A Kistler gage was used to measure the total force averaged over the cube face. A bottom mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) was used to obtain measurements of velocity through the water column to provide incoming velocity boundary conditions. A Light Detecting and Ranging (LiDAR) system was also used above the basin to obtain a surface mapping of the free surface over a distance of approximately 15 feet (4.6 m). Additional point measurements of the free surface were made using acoustic distance sensors. Standard and high-speed video cameras were used to capture a qualitative assessment of the impacts. Impact loads on the plate tend to increase with wave height, as well as with plate inclination toward incoming waves. Further trends of the pressures and forces with wave characteristics, cube orientation, draft and face angle are investigated and presented in this paper, and are also compared with previous test results.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 2849
Author(s):  
Shudi Dong ◽  
Md Salauddin ◽  
Soroush Abolfathi ◽  
Jonathan Pearson

This study investigates the variation of wave impact loads with the geometrical configurations of recurve retrofits mounted on the crest of a vertical seawall. Physical model tests were undertaken in a wave flume at the University of Warwick to investigate the effects of the geometrical properties of recurve on the pressure distribution, overall force, and overturning moment at the seawall, subject to both impulsive and non-impulsive waves. Additionally, the wave impact and quasi-static loads on the recurve portion of the retrofitted seawalls are investigated to understand the role of retrofitting on the structural integrity of the vertical seawall. Detailed analysis of laboratory measurements is conducted to understand the effects of overhang length and height of the recurve wall on the wave loading. It is found that the increase in both recurve height and overhang length lead to the increase of horizontal impact force at an average ratio of 1.15 and 1.1 times larger the reference case of a plain vertical wall for the tested configurations. The results also show that the geometrical shape changes in recurve retrofits, increasing the overturning moment enacted by the wave impact force. A relatively significant increase in wave loading (both impact and quasi-static loads) are observed for the higher recurve retrofits, while changes in the overturning moment are limited for the retrofits with longer overhang length. The data generated from the physical modelling measurements presented in this study will be particularly helpful for a range of relevant stakeholders, including coastal engineers, infrastructure designers, and the local authorities in coastal regions. The results of this study can also enable scientists to design and develop robust decision support tools to evaluate the performance of vertical seawalls with recurve retrofitting.


Author(s):  
Matthieu Ancellin ◽  
Laurent Brosset ◽  
Jean-Michel Ghidaglia

Understanding the physics of sloshing wave impacts is necessary for the improvement of sloshing assessment methodology based on sloshing model tests, for LNG membrane tanks on floating structures. The phase change between natural gas and liquefied natural gas is one of the physical phenomena involved during a LNG wave impact but is not taken into account during sloshing model tests. In this paper, some recent numerical and analytical works on the influence of phase change are summarized and discussed. For the impact of an ideally shaped wave, phase change influences two different steps of the impact in different ways: during the gas escape phase, phase change leads to a higher impact velocity; for entrapped gas pockets, phase change causes a reduction of the pressure in the gas pocket. However, this influence is quantitatively small. The generalization to more realistic wave shapes (including e.g. liquid aeration) should be the focus of future works.


1989 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.-S. Chan ◽  
W. K. Melville

An experimental study of deepwater plunging wave loads on vertical walls and cylinders is reported. Simultaneous measurements of the forces and pressures are obtained. The characteristics of the impact loads are presented and the scaling of pressures from model results to prototype scales is discussed. Overall, the characteristics of forces and pressures vary systematically with the structure’s location relative to the wave-breaking location. Impacts on cylinders are similar to those on a flat plate; however, the presence of the wall has a larger influence on the dynamics of impact compared to that of the cylinder.


Author(s):  
Anne M. Fullerton ◽  
Thomas C. Fu ◽  
David E. Hess

Navy fleet problems with damage to hatches and other appendages after operation in high sea states suggest that wave impact loads may be greater than the current design guidelines of 1000 pounds per square foot (48 kilopascal) (Ship Specification Section 100, General Requirements for Hull Structure and Guidance Manual for Temporary Alterations, NAVSEA S9070-AA-MME-010/SSN, SSBN). These large impact forces not only cause damage to ships and ship structures, they can also endanger the ship’s crew. To design robust marine structures, accurate estimates of all encountered loads are necessary, including the wave impact forces, which are complex and involve wave breaking, making them difficult to estimate numerically. An experiment to investigate wave impact loads was performed at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division in 2005. During this experiment, the horizontal and vertical loads of regular, non-breaking waves on a 12 inch (0.305 m) square plate and a 19.75 inch (0.5 m) diameter horizontal cylinder were measured while varying incident wave height, wavelength, wave steepness, plate angle and immersion level of the plate and cylinder. Wave heights of up to 1.5 feet (0.46 m) were tested, with wavelenghs of up to 30 feet (9.1 m). In all cases, the horizontal wave impact force increased with wave steepness. For some angles, the horizontal wave impact force increased with greater submergence. A feed-forward neural network (FFNN) developed by Applied Simulation Technologies was used to predict the horizontal forces measured during the experiment based on the values of wave height, wavelength, wave steepness, plate angle and immersion level of the plate and cyclinder. A FFNN is a computational method used to develop nonlinear equation systems that use input variables to predict output variables. Predictions of forces from the FFNN compare well with the experimental data, and may be useful in future design of ships and ship structures.


Author(s):  
Zhenjia (Jerry) Huang ◽  
Robert Oberlies ◽  
Don Spencer ◽  
Jang Kim

For the design of offshore structures in harsh wave environments, it is essential to accurately determine the wave impact loads on the structure. To date, robust numerical prediction methods / algorithms for determining wave impact forces on offshore structures do not exist. Model testing continues to be the industry practice for determining wave impact forces on offshore structures. Accurate measurements of wave impact loads in model tests have been challenging for several decades. Transducers require the ability to capture the short duration, dynamic nature and high magnitude of impact loads. In order to qualify transducers for these types of measurements, we need to develop a way to physically impose dynamic impact loads on the transducers and to establish benchmark values that can be used to check the effectiveness of their measurements. In this paper, we present our recent research work on transducer qualification for wave impact load measurements, including their development, numerical analysis and wedge drop model tests. Our findings show that wedge drop tests can be used to impose dynamic impact loads for transducer qualification, and that the Wagner solution and / or validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations that include the effects of viscosity, compressibility and hydroelasticity can provide the appropriate benchmarking values. Numerical simulation results, model test measurements and findings on transducer qualification are presented and discussed in the paper.


2012 ◽  
Vol 226-228 ◽  
pp. 1255-1259
Author(s):  
Zong Liu Huang ◽  
Peng Zhi Lin

A numerical model has been developed to study wave overtopping of permeable units protected breakwater and water-structure impactions. The numerical model solves the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations outside of porous media and solves the spatially averaged Navier-Stokes equations in porous media, respectively. The numerical model is first validated by experimental data. The validated model is then employed to investigate the breaking wave overtopping porous media protected breakwater. The overtopping discharge and impact forces on the structures behind the crown wall in different wave conditions are studied. The increase of wave height brings increasing maximum overtopping discharges and different spatial distribution of water behind the crown wall. The impact forces on the structures are determined by both incident wave height and relative positions of the structures.


1996 ◽  
Vol 327 ◽  
pp. 221-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheguang Zhang ◽  
Dick K. P. Yue ◽  
Katsuji Tanizawa

We present a numerical study of the impact of a two-dimensional plunging wave on a rigid vertical wall in the context of potential flow. The plunging wave impinging the wall is generated using a mixed-Eulerian-Lagrangian (MEL) boundary-integral scheme. The initial stage of the impact is characterized by an oblique impact of a liquid wedge on the wall and is solved using a similarity solution. Following the initial impact, the MEL simulation is continued to capture the transient impact process. The effect of an air cushion trapped between the plunger and the wall is considered. In addition to details such as temporal evolutions and surface profiles, the main interests are the maximum impact pressure on the wall and its rise time. To arrive at appropriate scaling laws for these, simulations are performed and correlations are explored for a broad range of local plunging wave kinematic and geometric parameters. To assess the present results, direct comparisons are made with the experiment of Chan & Melville (1988). Reasonable quantitative agreement is obtained and likely sources for discrepancies are identified and discussed.


Author(s):  
Saeid Kazemi ◽  
Atilla Incecik

An experimental study for predicting the air gap and potential deck impact of a floating offshore structure is the main topic of this research. Numerical modeling for air gap prediction is particularly complicated in the case of floating offshore structures because of their large volume, and the resulting effects of wave diffraction and radiation. Therefore, for new floating platforms, the model tests are often performed as part of their design process. This paper summarizes physical model tests conducted on a semi-submersible model, representing a 1-to-100 scale model of a GVA4000 class, “IRAN-ALBORZ”, the largest semi-submersible platform in the Caspian Sea, under construction in North of Iran, to evaluate the platform’s air gap at different locations of its deck and also measure the impact forces in case of having negative air gap. The model was tested in regular waves in the wave tank of Newcastle University. The paper discusses the experimental setup, test conditions, and the resulting measurements of the air gap and the wave impact forces by using eight wave probes and three load cells located at different points of the lower deck of the platform.


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