Effect of Short-Crestedness on Extreme Wave Impact: A Summary of Findings From the Joint Industry Project “ShorTCresT”

Author(s):  
Janou Hennig ◽  
Jule Scharnke ◽  
Chris Swan ◽  
Øistein Hagen ◽  
Kevin Ewans ◽  
...  

Long-crested waves are typically used in the design of offshore structures. However, the corresponding statistics, kinematics and loading are significantly different in short-crested waves and up to date, there is no state-of-the-art methodology to apply short-crested models instead. The objective of the “ShortCresT” Joint Industry Project was to take into account short-crestedness in the design of offshore structures against extreme waves based on a good description of their spectral characteristics, statistics, kinematics, breaking and loading and to deliver (empirical) design recommendations and methods. This paper gives an overview of the findings of ShorTCresT regarding wave crest and height distributions, a comparison of basin and field data, the role of wave breaking, the most realistic directional model, hindcast models as well as the related platform loading.

Author(s):  
Andrew Cornett

Many deck-on-pile structures are located in shallow water depths at elevations low enough to be inundated by large waves during intense storms or tsunami. Many researchers have studied wave-in-deck loads over the past decade using a variety of theoretical, experimental, and numerical methods. Wave-in-deck loads on various pile supported coastal structures such as jetties, piers, wharves and bridges have been studied by Tirindelli et al. (2003), Cuomo et al. (2007, 2009), Murali et al. (2009), and Meng et al. (2010). All these authors analyzed data from scale model tests to investigate the pressures and loads on beam and deck elements subject to wave impact under various conditions. Wavein- deck loads on fixed offshore structures have been studied by Murray et al. (1997), Finnigan et al. (1997), Bea et al. (1999, 2001), Baarholm et al. (2004, 2009), and Raaij et al. (2007). These authors have studied both simplified and realistic deck structures using a mixture of theoretical analysis and model tests. Other researchers, including Kendon et al. (2010), Schellin et al. (2009), Lande et al. (2011) and Wemmenhove et al. (2011) have demonstrated that various CFD methods can be used to simulate the interaction of extreme waves with both simple and more realistic deck structures, and predict wave-in-deck pressures and loads.


Author(s):  
Janou Hennig ◽  
Jule Scharnke ◽  
Christian E. Schmittner ◽  
Joris van den Berg

The objective of the ShortCresT JIP Joint Industry Project was to take into account short-crestedness in the design of offshore structures against extreme waves based on a good description of their spectral characteristics, statistics, kinematics, breaking and loading and to deliver a concrete (empirical) design methodology. The second order wave crest distribution showed to be a good basis for the estimation of a design wave crest. However, depending on sea state steepness and directional spreading, crests may exceed the second order distribution in some severe seas by around 10 %. On the other hand, the very highest crests may be limited by breaking and even fall below the second order model. This paper addresses experimental results from the MARIN where directional wave measurements were carried out in two dimensions. Conclusions with respect to evolution of wave spectra in the basin, directional analysis and calibration, sampling variability, local variability of measured crest heights and measured crest height distributions due to different types of spreading are evaluated. Furthermore, the influence of the type of instrumentation and the effect of the spectral high frequency tail on the crest distributions are assessed.


Author(s):  
Xin Lu ◽  
Pankaj Kumar ◽  
Anand Bahuguni ◽  
Yanling Wu

The design of offshore structures for extreme/abnormal waves assumes that there is sufficient air gap such that waves will not hit the platform deck. Due to inaccuracies in the predictions of extreme wave crests in addition to settlement or sea-level increases, the required air gap between the crest of the extreme wave and the deck is often inadequate in existing platforms and therefore wave-in-deck loads need to be considered when assessing the integrity of such platforms. The problem of wave-in-deck loading involves very complex physics and demands intensive study. In the Computational Fluid Mechanics (CFD) approach, two critical issues must be addressed, namely the efficient, realistic numerical wave maker and the accurate free surface capturing methodology. Most reported CFD research on wave-in-deck loads consider regular waves only, for instance the Stokes fifth-order waves. They are, however, recognized by designers as approximate approaches since “real world” sea states consist of random irregular waves. In our work, we report a recently developed focused extreme wave maker based on the NewWave theory. This model can better approximate the “real world” conditions, and is more efficient than conventional random wave makers. It is able to efficiently generate targeted waves at a prescribed time and location. The work is implemented and integrated with OpenFOAM, an open source platform that receives more and more attention in a wide range of industrial applications. We will describe the developed numerical method of predicting highly non-linear wave-in-deck loads in the time domain. The model’s capability is firstly demonstrated against 3D model testing experiments on a fixed block with various deck orientations under random waves. A detailed loading analysis is conducted and compared with available numerical and measurement data. It is then applied to an extreme wave loading test on a selected bridge with multiple under-deck girders. The waves are focused extreme irregular waves derived from NewWave theory and JONSWAP spectra.


Author(s):  
Eirini Katsidoniotaki ◽  
Edward Ransley ◽  
Scott Brown ◽  
Johannes Palm ◽  
Jens Engström ◽  
...  

Abstract Accurate modeling and prediction of extreme loads for survivability is of crucial importance if wave energy is to become commercially viable. The fundamental differences in scale and dynamics from traditional offshore structures, as well as the fact that wave energy has not converged around one or a few technologies, implies that it is still an open question how the extreme loads should be modeled. In recent years, several methods to model wave energy converters in extreme waves have been developed, but it is not yet clear how the different methods compare. The purpose of this work is the comparison of two widely used approaches when studying the response of a point-absorber wave energy converter in extreme waves, using the open-source CFD software OpenFOAM. The equivalent design-waves are generated both as equivalent regular waves and as focused waves defined using NewWave theory. Our results show that the different extreme wave modeling methods produce different dynamics and extreme forces acting on the system. It is concluded that for the investigation of point-absorber response in extreme wave conditions, the wave train dynamics and the motion history of the buoy are of high importance for the resulting buoy response and mooring forces.


Author(s):  
Zhigang Tian

Wave impact on offshore structures has been the focus of several studies, due to its significant effect on offshore operations. We evaluate several parameters (wave impact indicators) which can be adopted to indicate the possibility of wave impact on offshore structures due to extreme waves. The indicators can be estimated quickly with given sea states, and thus may provide useful information to offshore structure designers at early design phases. Definitions of three wave impact indicators are presented and discussed. The first indicator, Ψ, is proposed by Stansberg (2008). The second one considered is a wave breaking parameter, μ, originally presented by Song and Banner (2002) in their construction of a wave breaking criterion. Finally, we propose a more generalized impact indicator, βn. The subscript n indicates its dependence on local wave steepness. Our study demonstrates that the three indicators are analytically related. To evaluate these indicators numerically, 2nd order random surface waves are generated with random phase method and Two-Dimensional Fast Fourier Transform (2D FFT). Hilbert analysis of the wave signal reveals that all indicators are able to identify steep and energetic waves that may potentially cause large wave impact loads. Further numerical study demonstrates that the quantitative correlation of wave impact loads to μ is less promising than that to Ψ and βn; while βn provides the best relationship to both local wave impact load and global wave load with its dependence on local wave steepness adjusted (i.e. adjusting n). The correlation is independent of sea states. Estimations and recommendations for thresholds of the two impact indicators (i.e. Ψ and βn with n = 1) are made based on model test results. With proper estimation of the thresholds, both indicators can be applied to predict wave impact and wave impact probability in given sea states.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. Dao ◽  
H. Xu ◽  
E. S. Chan ◽  
P. Tkalich

Abstract. The impact of extreme/rogue waves can lead to serious damage of vessels as well as marine and coastal structures. Such extreme waves in deep water are characterized by steep wave fronts and an energetic wave crest. The process of wave breaking is highly complex and, apart from the general knowledge that impact loadings are highly impulsive, the dynamics of the breaking and impact are still poorly understood. Using an advanced numerical method, the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics enhanced with parallel computing is able to reproduce well the extreme waves and their breaking process. Once the waves and their breaking process are modelled successfully, the dynamics of the breaking and the characteristics of their impact on offshore structures could be studied. The computational methodology and numerical results are presented in this paper.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kokorina ◽  
Alexey Slunyaev

<p>Direct numerical simulations of the directional sea surface gravity waves are carried out within the framework of the primitive potential equations of hydrodynamics using the High Order Spectral Method. The data obtained for conditions of deep water, the JONSWAP spectrum, and various wave intensities are processed and the results are discussed. The statistical and spectral characteristics of the waves evolve over a long period. The particular asymmetry of the profiles of rogue waves is highlighted. We show that besides the conventional crest-to-trough asymmetry of nonlinear Stokes waves, the extreme events are characterized by a specific combination of the troughs adjacent to the large crest, so that the trough behind the crest is typically deeper than the preceding trough. Surprisingly, the extreme wave crest-to-trough asymmetry and the discrimination between the extreme wave troughs exhibit the tendency to grow when the angle spectrum broadens. This effect contradicts the expectation based on the Benjamin – Feir Index that broad-banded waves should behave similar to linear waves, and hence the asymmetries should diminish.</p><p>                                                                 </p><p>The research is supported by the RSF grant No. 19-12-00253.</p><p> </p><p>A. Kokorina, A. Slunyaev, The effect of wave nonlinearity on the rogue wave lifetimes and shapes. Proc. 14th Int. MEDCOAST Congress on Coastal and Marine Sciences, Engineering, Management and Conservation (Ed. E. Ozhan), Vol. 2, 711-721 (2019).</p>


Author(s):  
Nagi Abdussamie ◽  
Roberto Ojeda ◽  
Giles Thomas ◽  
Walid Amin

This article describes a series of model tests conducted to examine extreme wave events associated with tropical cyclonic conditions and their impacts on an offshore deck structure. Extreme waves of a representative cyclonic sea state were examined in a towing tank within long-crested irregular wave trains. Experimental results presented include global forces and localised slamming pressures acting on a rigidly mounted box-shaped deck, which represents a simplified topside structure of a tension leg platform. The effect of static set-down on the still-water air gap was investigated by applying an equivalent reduction for the deck clearance. It was found that a small reduction of 20 mm (2.5 m full scale) in the original deck clearance can lead to a doubling of the magnitude of the horizontal force and the vertical upward-directed force components, as well as significantly increased slamming pressures in many locations on the deck underside.


Author(s):  
Yu Chen ◽  
Yanling Wu ◽  
Graham Stewart ◽  
Johan Gullman-Strand ◽  
Xin Lu

Extreme wave impacts on the decks of offshore structures with insufficient air gap may cause damage or even collapse with safety, economic, and pollution consequences. In this study, the impact loads on a fixed platform deck have been predicted numerically by employing a Navier-Stokes solver with the free-surface captured by the volume of fluid (VOF) method. 3D numerical simulations of wave-deck interactions for long-crested extreme waves were performed. The simulations successfully captured the evolution of impact loads and free surface of the waves during the interaction with the platform deck. A detailed parametric analysis of wave-deck interactions showed significant differences in loads under various situations and confirmed the large magnitudes of the loads to be expected during impact. The results presented include a solid box and a more realistic case of under-deck beams. These provide a useful benchmark for predicting wave loadings on platform decks and through this research programme the longer term aim is to establish improved guidelines for assessing the risk of existing structures.


Author(s):  
Songgui Chen ◽  
Zeming Wang ◽  
Jinhai Zheng ◽  
Chi Zhang ◽  
Ke Hu

Abstract Waves propagating over reefs have been studied by many researchers. However due to limitation of small wave flume, most experiments focused on the normal waves. Extreme waves are the input parameters for structure design on reefs. Thus, experiments of extreme waves propagating over reefs were conducted in the large wave flume of the Tianjin Research Institute of Water Transport Engineering. Extreme wave hydrodynamic within surf zone will be focused on. Tests with different wave heights Hi, wave periods T and water levels on reefs h have been carried out. The model scale is set to be 1:15, then Hi from 4.5m to 12m, T from 9s to 17s, hr from 0 to 3m are generated in the test. Wave breaking points are observed by high speed camera. Wave breaking points move offshore as Hi and T increase and h decrease. Wave setups and wave-induced flows along the reef are measured at different locations. It can be found that wave setups increase with increasing Hi and T and decreasing water level h. Wave-induced flows increase with increasing Hi and h and decreasing T. As waves propagate towards landside, wave setups and wave-induced flows have a local extremum at the middle of surf zone. Compared with our test, Gourlay’s formulas overestimate wave setup while underestimate wave induced flow within extreme wave surf zone.


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