Characterizing random wave surface elevation data

The definition and subsequent use of dimensional and dimensionless parameters to characterize various nonlinear aspects of ocean surface waves has again become a matter of great interest to the offshore community. The desire to ascertain whether laboratory simulations are adequately representing the surface waves found in the oceans and the concern over the mechanisms behind platform response phenomena, like ringing, has driven this resurgence of interest. This paper presents a depth independent characterization of single design waves, from which improved estimates of localized wave crest front and back slopes follow that are consistent with discrete time series analysis. Characterization of the nature of the entire wave data recorded requires a combination of spectral parameters and probabilistic models in addition to those used in the design wave characterization. A new expression for the direct evaluation of the kurtosis from knowledge of the spectral bandwidth, the relationship between some of the common spectral parameters, and some modified spectral parameters are presented and discussed. Three illustrative examples are presented. The first example provides a detailed examination of wave data measured from a series of random amplitude and random phase tests in a large model basin. The second presents estimates of the various parameters for the Pierson-Moskowitz and Wallops wave spectrum models. The third example investigates the use of the spectral peakedness ratio for comparing data with selected wave spectrum models. The examples illustrate how the formulae can provide a comprehensive local and global parametric characterization of surface wave elevation data.     

Stokes drift estimation for deep water waves based on short-term variation of wave conditions

The paper provides a simple analytical method which can be used to give estimates of the Stokes drift based on short-term variation of wave conditions. This is achieved by providing bivariate distributions of wave height and surface Stokes drift as well as wave height and volume Stokes transport for individual random waves within a sea state. The paper presents and discusses statistical aspects of these Stokes drift parameters, as well as examples of results corresponding to typical field conditions.     

Simulation and prediction of swash oscillations on a steep beach

This paper presents numerical simulations and analytical predictions of key aspects of swash oscillations on a steep beach. Simulations of the shoreline displacement based on bore run-up theory are found to give excellent agreement with recent experimental data for regular waves, wave groups and random waves. The theory is used to derive parameters that predict the onset of swash saturation and the spectral characteristics of the saturated shoreline motion. These parameters are again in good agreement with the measured laboratory data and are also consistent with previous experimental data. Simulation of irregular wave run-up using a series of overlapping monochromatic swash events is found to reproduce typical features of swash oscillations and can accurately describe both the low and high frequency spectral characteristics of the swash zone. In particular, the low frequency components of the run-up can be modelled directly using a sequence of incident short wave bores, with no direct long wave input to the numerical simulations. This suggests that wave groupiness must be accounted for when modelling shoreline oscillations.     

Steepness and asymmetry of extreme waves and the highest waves in deep water

Traditional wave steepness s=H/L does not define steep asymmetric waves in a random sea uniquey. Three additional parameters characterising single zero-downcross waves in a time series are crest front steepness, vertical asymmetry factor and horizontal asymmetry factor. Results for steepness and asymmetry from zero-downcross analysis of wave data obtained from full scale measurements in deep water on the Norwegian continental shelf in 58 time series are presented. The analysis demonstrates clearly the asymmetry of both “extreme waves” and the highest waves. The period and height of the highest waves are also given together with their correlation to spectral parameters. The measured maximum wave heights are also compared with predicted values of maximum wave heights showing good agreement.     

随机波浪下泰勒离散系数的时域解

利用Wolk提出的粒子追踪方程,通过等分频率法划分不规则波谱,利用MATLAB做粒子运动模拟计算,得到无因次化泰勒离散系数K/D随时间t变化的曲线;通过与Huang等得到的P-M谱的泰勒离散系数K/D计算结果比较证明了本计算方法的可靠性。采用该方法研究了不规则波条件下,波序列(同一谱型不同波面序列)和谱型(谱峰周期、有效波高、谱峰升高因子)对波浪离散系数的影响;计算结果表明:同一谱型不同波序列对泰勒纵向离散系数稳定值和稳定时间无影响;不规则波谱峰周期越大,纵向离散系数K/D越小,稳定时间越短;有效波高越大,纵向离散系数K/D越大,稳定时间越长;谱峰升高因子越大,泰勒离散系数K/D越大,稳定时间越长;与规则波相比,不规则波的泰勒离散系数K/D的值略小10%~30%。     

三阶Stokes型随机波浪载荷谱研究

应用非线性谱分析理论，对三阶Stokes型随机波浪载荷谱进行了分析，将波面方程及海水质点的水平速度用一阶波面的非线性组表示，导出了随机波浪谱的表达式。为了便于求解随机波浪的载荷谱，将阻力项展开为幂级数式，并应用非线性谱分析理论，确定了幂级数的系数，进而将波浪载荷表示为一阶波面及其导数的非线性组合，最后得出波浪载荷谱密度的表达式，并应用数值分析方法，得出单位桩柱波浪力及总波浪力谱密度。     

Comparison of experimental irregular water wave elevation and kinematic data with new hybrid wave model predictions

Surface water wave elevations and kinematics from four unidirectional irregular wave trains, with a Pierson and Moskowitz or JONSWAP random wave spectrum, were measured in the laboratory using resistance wave probes and a laser Doppler anemometer. The wave elevation data, velocity time series, extreme (largest) wave horizontal velocity profiles and extreme wave acceleration fields are compared with the predictions of a new wave kinematics model, named the hybrid wave model. Irregular waves are commonly viewed as the summation of many linear wave components of different frequencies, but more accurate predictions of downstream surface elevations (wave evolution) and wave kinematics are attained by considering the non-linear interactions among wave components. The hybrid wave model incorporates these non-linear wave component interactions, and its wave evolution predictions and kinematics estimates are compared with laboratory measurements in this study. Linear random wave theory, Wheeler stretching and linear extrapolation wave kinematic prediction techniques are also compared. Comparisons between measurements and hybrid wave model estimates demonstrate its improved capability to predict velocity and acceleration fields and wave evolution in two-dimensional irregular waves.     

Simulation of Random Waves and Associated Laminar Bottom Shear Stresses

This work presents a new approach for simulating the random waves in viscous fluids and the associated bottom shear stresses. By generating the incident random waves in a numerical wave flume and solving the unsteady two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations and the fully nonlinear free surface boundaiy conditions for the fluid flows in the flume, the viscous flows and laminar bottom shear stresses induced by random waves axe determined. The deterministic spectral amplitude method implemented by use of the fast Fourier transform algorithm was adopted to generate the incident random waves. The accuracy of the numerical scheme is confirmed by comparing the predicted wave spectrum with the target spectrum and by comparing the nanlerical transfer function between the shear stress and the surface elevation with the theoretical transfer function. The maximum bottom shear stress caused by random waves, computed by this wave model, is compared with that obtained by Myrhaug＇ s model （1995）. The transfer function method is also employed to determine the maximum shear stress, and is proved accurate.     

Spectral spreading from surface bubble motion

At low frequencies, surface bubbles contribute to acoustic backscattering in aggregate, and the motion of these bubble masses causes spectral spreading of the acoustic signals. This motion of the bubbles entrained in the surface waves is used to obtain the power spectrum of a low-frequency surface-scattered signal at a low grazing angle. A spectral distribution of the deterministic surface drift, augmented by breaking wave crests, is developed for the wave frequency components that are actively breaking. This motion is combined with the random motion in a wave cycle to predict the spectral widths of low-angle backscattered sound. To permit comparisons with measured data, convolutions of these spectra with simple square pulses of various durations are performed     

Estimating the potential of ocean wave power resources

The realistic assessment of an ocean wave energy resource that can be converted to an electrical power at various offshore sites depends upon many factors, and these include estimating the resource recognizing the random nature of the site-specific wave field, and optimizing the power conversion from particular wave energy conversion devices. In order to better account for the uncertainty in wave power resource estimates, conditional probability distribution functions of wave power in a given sea-state are derived. Theoretical expressions for the deep and shallow water limits are derived and the role of spectral width is studied. The theoretical model estimates were compared with the statistics obtained from the wave-by-wave analysis of JONSWAP based ocean wave time-series. It was shown that the narrow-band approximation is appropriate when the variability due to wave period is negligible. The application of the short-term models in evaluating the long-term wave power resource at a site was illustrated using wave data measured off the California coast. The final example illustrates the procedure for incorporating the local wave data and the sea-state model together with a wave energy device to obtain an estimate of the potential wave energy that could be converted into a usable energy resource.     

Non-hydrostatic modeling of surf zone wave dynamics

Non-hydrostatic models such as Surface WAves till SHore (SWASH) resolve many of the relevant physics in coastal wave propagation such as dispersion, shoaling, refraction, dissipation and nonlinearity. However, for efficiency, they assume a single-valued surface and therefore do not resolve some aspects of breaking waves such as wave overturning, turbulence generation, and air entrainment. To study the ability of such models to represent nonlinear wave dynamics and statistics in a dissipative surf zone, we compare simulations with SWASH to flume observations of random, unidirectional waves, incident on a 1:30 planar beach. The experimental data includes a wide variation in the incident wave fields, so that model performance can be studied over a large range of wave conditions. Our results show that, without specific calibration, the model accurately predicts second-order bulk parameters such as wave height and period, the details of the spectral evolution, and higher-order statistics, such as skewness and asymmetry of the waves. Monte Carlo simulations show that the model can capture the principal features of the wave probability density function in the surf zone, and that the spectral distribution of dissipation in SWASH is proportional to the frequency squared, which is consistent with observations reported by earlier studies. These results show that relatively efficient non-hydrostatic models such as SWASH can be successfully used to parametrize surf zone wave processes.     

Correlation between individual waves in a real sea state

The correlation between individual waves in a real sea state has a central role in existing theories of wave grouping. The attractive Kimura (1980) theory has two critical assumptions, that the sequence of individual wave heights follows a Markov process and that the joint distribution of consecutive wave heights follows a bivariate Rayleigh form. Analysis of measured water surface records suggests that sequences of individual waves can reasonably be described as a first order mixed autoregressive, moving-average or ARMA process, though a distinction among ARMA (1,0), ARMA (0,1) and ARMA (1,1) models was beyond the resolution of the data. These include the Markov or ARMA (1,0) model. The decisive detail, the joint distribution of consecutive wave heights in the sea state, was evaluated by a simulation methodology that is consistent with the Gaussian random wave model. The estimates are dependent on spectral shape and are consistently narrower and more sharply focussed at the peak than the corresponding bivariate Rayleigh estimate. The resulting predictions of run and group length statistics differ from the Kimura theory, though not by a sufficient margin to displace the Kimura theory as a pragmatic choice for wave grouping.     

基于海浪谱的沉箱式防波堤动力分析方法

利用海浪谱JONSWAP谱生成随机波浪,并结合改进的波浪力时程模型生成一个连续的、持续时间相对较长的随机波浪力作用过程。假设五十年设计基准期内防波堤每年遭受一次风暴,利用波浪谱随机生成五十次风暴波浪作用过程,对防波堤五十年设计基准期的响应过程进行一次随机模拟,以此作为一个样本。经过对大量随机模拟产生的样本进行统计分析,实现对防波堤整个设计基准期内的安全度进行概率评估。最后,通过算例对该方法的应用进行了演示。     

Spectral Analysis of Nonlinear Drag Forces

The spectral properties of nonlinear drag forces of random waves on vertical circular cylinders are analyzed in this paper by means of nonlinear spectral analysis. The analysis provides basic parameters for estimation of the characteristic drag forces. Numerical computation is also performed for the investigation of the effects of nonlinearity of the drag forces.The results indicate that the wave drag forces calculated by linear wave theory are larger than those calculated by the third order Stokes wave theory for given waves. The difference between them increases with wave height. The wave drag forces calculated by use of hnear approximation are about 5% smaller than their actual values when measured in the peak values of spectral densities. This will result in a safety problem for the design of offshore structures. Therefore, the nonlinear effect of wave drag forces should be taken into comidemtion in design and application of important offshore structures.     

Some statistical aspects of wave-induced drift in sea states

The paper provides a simple analytical tool which can be used to give estimates of the mean value and the standard deviation of the Stokes drift for sea states. This is achieved by providing bivariate distributions of significant wave height with surface Stokes drift as well as with volume Stokes transport. These Stokes drift parameters are defined in terms of significant wave height and characteristic wave periods. Also bivariate distributions of spectral peak period and these two Stokes drift parameters are provided. The paper presents statistical aspects of the Stokes drift parameters, such as the conditional expected values and the conditional variances for given significant wave height, as well as examples of results corresponding to typical field conditions. The present analytical results can be used to make assessment of Stokes drift based on e.g. global wave statistics.     

Statistical distribution of wave-surface elevation for second-order random directional ocean waves in finite water depth

Based on the second-order random wave solutions of water wave equations in finite water depth, a statistical distribution of the wave-surface elevation is derived by using the characteristic function expansion method. It is found that the distribution, after normalization of the wave-surface elevation, depends only on two parameters. One parameter describes the small mean bias of the surface produced by the second-order wave-wave interactions. Another one is approximately proportional to the skewness of the distribution. Both of these two parameters can be determined by the water depth and the wave-number spectrum of ocean waves. As an illustrative example, we consider a fully developed wind-generated sea and the parameters are calculated for various wind speeds and water depths by using Donelan and Pierson spectrum. It is also found that, for deep water, the dimensionless distribution reduces to the third-order Gram–Charlier series obtained by Longuet-Higgins [J. Fluid Mech. 17 (1963) 459]. The newly proposed distribution is compared with the data of Bitner [Appl. Ocean Res. 2 (1980) 63], Gaussian distribution and the fourth-order Gram–Charlier series, and found our distribution gives a more reasonable fit to the data.     

未破碎变浅随机海浪的波面高度概率分布

利用青岛海洋大学物理海洋实验室现代化的大型水槽,设计进行了多种海浪强度下,由深水传入近岸不同坡度水底上的变浅随机海浪的实验.依据实验资料分析结果表明,对变浅非正态海浪过程而言,其波面高度分布取Gram-Charlier级数前3项,所得结果与实验分布符合良好.该分布中σ、λ₃、λ₄3个参量是测点水深和波浪强度的函数,并获得了与无因次参量Hs/d之间的经验关系,为预测变浅随机海浪的波面高度分布提供了可能.     

Standing wave pressures due to regular and random waves on a vertical wall

The standing wave pressures due to laboratory-generated regular and random waves exerted on a vertical wall were measured in a wave flume. The standing wave pressures were measured at four relative depths of submergence on the test model. The regular wave test conditions ranged from intermediate to deep water conditions. The measured pressures due to regular waves were compared with results obtained using linear theory and third-order solution. In the case of random wave tests, the dynamic pressures due to the time histories of water surface elevation following the spectral characteristics of Pierson-Moskowitz and Bretschneider spectra were measured. These pressures are compared with simulated pressures obtained through the linear filter technique of Reid. The variation of pressure spectra along the depth are presented. In addition, comparison of spectral parameters, i.e. zeroth moment, spectral width parameter and narrowness parameter of measured and simulated pressure spectra, are reported and discussed. The behaviour of the coherence function between the wave elevation on the wall and the corresponding pressures is also discussed.     

Joint statistical distribution of two-point sea surface elevations in finite water depth

Based on the second-order random wave solutions of water wave equations in finite water depth, a joint statistical distribution of two-point sea surface elevations is derived by using the characteristic function expansion method. It is found that the joint distribution depends on five parameters. These five parameters can all be determined by the water depth, the relative position of two points and the wave-number spectrum of ocean waves. As an illustrative example, for fully developed wind-generated sea, the parameters that appeared in the joint distribution are calculated for various wind speeds, water depths and relative positions of two points by using the Donelan and Pierson spectrum and the nonlinear effects of sea waves on the joint distribution are studied.