Experimental Investigation of Irregular Wave Uplift Force on Deck of Exposed High-Pile Jetties

A laboratory setup was developed to investigate irregular wave uplift loads on exposed high-pile jetties.It is shown that the dimensionless uplift load increases to the maximum with an increasing relative clearance and then decreases.The relative clearance corresponding to the peak force is linked to a range from 0.4 to 0.8.When the relative clearance exceeds a certain value,the wave can not reach the underside of the deck and the force becomes zero.Distinct trends of dimensionless force with a relative width of deck show that the force tends to decrease as the relative deck width increases,and then the decrease slows down after the relative deck width increases or decreases to a certain value.The pressure distribution length associated with the maximum uplift force is equivalent to the wave contact width x.When x is larger than the width of deck B,it is taken as B.The statistical distribution of loads obeys the Weibull distribution.The results from the analyses of the real data suggest a new dimensionless prediction model on wave-in-deck uplift loads and the conversion ratio between wave loads at different exceedance probabilities.A comparison is made between the new prediction model and the existing widely used three prediction models.These results are used as useful references for structural design of the jetty.     

On the response of flexible risers to loads imposed by hydraulic collars

Even though hydraulic collars are largely used to install flexible risers, neither the loads imposed by this equipment nor the response of the risers to these loads have been previously studied. Hence, this paper presents a three-dimensional nonlinear finite element (FE) model to predict the response of flexible risers to loads imposed by hydraulic collars and also provides a set of equations to predict these loads. The FE model relies on an analogy between helical tendons and orthotropic shells to simulate the inner carcass and the pressure armour of flexible risers. Shell elements are used to represent the polymeric layers and three-dimensional beam elements simulate the wires of the tensile armours. Material, geometric and contact nonlinearities are addressed. Contact interactions between the layers of the riser are handled by surface to surface contact elements with a contact detection algorithm based on the pinball technique and contact forces evaluated with the augmented Lagrangian method. A 9.5″ flexible riser is analyzed and the numerical results are compared to those from the experimental tests. The agreement between all results indicates that the proposed FE model is an efficient approach to predict the response of flexible risers to loads imposed by hydraulic collars and, moreover, may be used to analyze the response of such structures to other types of loads.     

An investigation of breaking wave pressures on inclined walls

Shoreline structures are subjected to breaking wave loads which may reach 690 KN/m². One possibility to reduce these loadings is to slope the exposed surface backwards. The possible amount of reduction in breaking wave loads is, however, unclear, and recent model tests indicated that sloped walls might be exposed to higher loads than are vertical walls. Within the Wave Energy Group at Queen's University Belfast, tests on a 1/36 model of a shoreline wave power station were conducted in order to assess the influence of front wall inclination on the magnitude of breaking wave pressures. It was found that breaking wave pressures decrease from 100% for the vertical wall to 44% for a 32.7° backwards inclined wall and to 64% for a 32.7° forward inclined wall. From the results it was concluded that a maximum pressure of 105% can be expected for a 10° forward inclined wall. Design recommendations were found to be conservative.     

Prediction of Load Carrying Capacity of Corroded Reinforced Concrete Beam

A novel method for prediction of the load carrying capacity of a corroded reinforced concrete beam (CRCB) is presented in the paper. Nine reinforced concrete beams, which had been working in an aggressive environment for more than 10 years, were tested in the laboratory. Comprehensive tests, including flexural test, strength test for corroded concrete and rusty rebar, and pullout test for bond strength between concrete and rebar, were condueted. The flexural test results of CRCBs reveal that the distribution of surface cracks on the beams shows a fractal behavior. The relationship between the fractal dimensions and mechanical properties of CRCBs is then studied. A prediction model based on artificial neural network (ANN) is established by the use of the fractal dimension as the corrosion index, together with the basic intbrmation of the beam. The validity of the prediction model is demonstrated through the experimental data, and satisfactory resuits are achieved.     

Validation of a time-domain strip method to calculate the motions and loads on a fast monohull

The paper presents a comparison between experimental data and numerical results of the hydrodynamic coefficients and also of the wave induced motions and loads on a fast monohull model. The model with 4.52 m length was constructed in Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP), and made up of 4 segments connected by a backbone in order to measure sectional loads. The objective of the investigation was to assess the capability of a nonlinear time domain strip method to represent the nonlinear and also the forward speed effects on a displacement high speed vessel advancing in large amplitude waves. With this objective in mind the experimental program included forced oscillation tests in heaving and pitching, for a range of periods, three different amplitudes and several speeds of advance. In head regular waves comprehensive ranges of wave periods, wave steepness and speeds, were tested in order to measure heave, pitch and loads in three cross sections.

The numerical method assumes that the radiation and diffraction hydrodynamic forces are linear and the nonlinear contributions arise from the hydrostatics and Froude–Krilov forces and the effects of green water on deck. The assumption of linearity of the radiation forces is validated by comparing calculated hydrodynamic coefficients with experimental data for three different amplitudes of the forced oscillations. Both global coefficients and sectional coefficients are compared. The motions and loads in waves are compared in terms of first and higher harmonic amplitudes and also in terms of sagging and hogging peaks.     

Wave Propagation in A Converging Channel of Arbitrary Configuration

A numerical solution was derived to determine wave field in a converging channel bounded by rubble-mound jetties. The solution was achieved by applying boundary element method. The model was applied to analyze the effect of channel convergence, the cross-section of the jetties and their physical and damping properties on wave field in the channel. The study reveals numerous non-intuitive results specific for jetted and convergent channels. The analysis shows that wave reflection is usually low and is of secondary practical importance. Wave transmission strongly depends on the channel geometry and transmitted waves may be higher than incident waves, despite reflection and damping processes. Moreover, wave transmission depends on physical and damping properties of rubble jetties and the results show that wave transmission may increase with the increasing damping properties of jetties, which is a non-intuitive feature of wave fields in jetted channels. The analysis reveals several novel results of practical importance. It is shown that the rubble-mound jetties should be constructed from the material of high porosity, which ensures low transmission. More attention should be devoted to hydraulic properties of porous materials. It is recommended to use the material of moderate damping properties. The material of high damping properties often increases the wave transmission. It is possible, by a selection of rubble-mound material, to obtain lower transmission level for steep waves than for waves of moderate steepness. A series of laboratory experiments were conducted in the wave flume to verify the theoretical results. The comparisons show that theoretical results are in fairly good agreement with experimental data.     

Evaluation of wave impact loads on caisson breakwaters based on joint probability of impact maxima and rise times

When waves break against seawalls, vertical breakwaters, piers or jetties, they abruptly transfer their momentum into the structure. This energy transfer is always spectacular and perpetually unrepeatable but can also be very violent and affect the stability and the integrity of coastal structures. Over the last 15 years, increasing awareness of wave-impact induced structural failures of maritime structures has emphasised the need for a more complete approach to dynamic responses, including effects of impulsive loads. At the same time, movement of design standards toward probabilistic approaches requires new statistical tools able to account for uncertainties in the variability of wave loading processes. This paper presents a new approach to the definition of loads for use in performance design of vertical coastal structures subject to breaking wave impacts.     

Hydro-morphological modeling to characterize the adequacy of jetties and subsidiary alternatives in sedimentary stock rationalization within tidal inlets of marine lagoons

Alterations to the tidal inlets shoals, whether natural or anthropogenic, can dramatically influence the hydro-morphological balance of the inlet system in the short and long-term. Jettied inlets, despite typically supported by former technical design reports in curtailing the sedimentology stock, sometimes they require amendments. This paper provides an expository epitome for understanding the role of jetties in concerning the extent of their adequacy to economically and ecologically rationalize the internal siltation within both the western and the eastern tidal inlets of the Bardawil Lagoon, which is situated along the Mediterranean coastline of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. The main tool to characterize that role is the hydro-morphological modeling of the inlets system. We used a two-dimensional hydrodynamic circulation model consisting of two steering modules, CMS-Flow and CMS-Wave. In a five-year simulation process, this study emphasized that the sole use of jetties was noticeably insufficient to fulfill the satisfactory stabilization of the sedimentation processes inside the inlets. Consequently, the lake's ecosystem might entirely collapse in the short run due to the progressive deposits fashioning in the form of ebb/flood-tidal deltas. Accordingly, we proposed alternative solutions based on structural modulation scenarios in the vicinity of inlets domain encompassing jetties extension, flow-diverted wall (FDW), sediment trap (ST), random radial channels (RC) and lateral wide channel (LWC). Based upon the results of an optimization model using the Mamdani-type fuzzy inference system, the addition of a lined LWC alongside with jetties proved to be an effective solution over a longer period that rather meets the needs of the majority of stakeholders satisfactorily.     

Effect of the Twin Jetties as A Regulating Structure at the Tao-er Estuary

The phase one project of the twin jetties at the Tao-er Estuary yields no effect on the flow, and there is a large area of deposition. A numerical model is employed to simulate the flow field, and the scouring and silting in the channel be-tween the two jetties are analyzed. The results show that the effective tidal flux between the two jetties is reduced due to the notch located at the heel of the east jetty, and the effect of contraction-flush is not obvious. As for the regulation of this kind of estuary under the tide action, the capability of tidal flux should be fully used.     

Stability of jetties for channel protection in soft soils at Huanghua Port

This paper presents safety evaluations of jetties found on soft clays at Huanghua Port to protect the channel from deposition due to long shore transport. It is likely to be the most critical for the jetties during construction, as far as excess pore water pressure and its effects on the embankment stability are concerned. A rubble mound jetty and a caisson jetty are considered as design alternatives for comparison. Finite element analysis and limit equilibrium analysis are carried out to evaluate the stability of the jetties during construction. For the rubble mound jetty, effective stresses in the soft clays are calculated associated with consolidation, so as to estimate the shear strength increased thereby. With the effective stresses and shear strength, the critical situation of the rubble mound jetty is revealed by the limit equilibrium analysis. For the caisson jetty, wave action is concerned, which is transformed into distributed forces on the caisson. Both the finite element analysis and the limit equilibrium analysis indicate a potential general shear failure of the caisson jetty and the foundation.     

Wave loads on rubble mound breakwater crown walls in deep and shallow water wave conditions

The semi-empirical formulae by Pedersen (1996) for wave loads on vertical front faces of stiff crown walls are based on model tests with deep and intermediate water wave conditions. A new series of model tests performed at the same test facility as used by Pedersen has revealed that the formulae by Pedersen overpredict the loads in shallow water wave conditions. This paper presents a modification/expansion of the formulae to cover loads in both deep and shallow water wave conditions. The modification is based on a series of 162 physical model tests on typical rubble mound breakwaters with crown wall superstructures. The implementation of shallow water wave conditions in the formulae is done by modifying the term for wave run-up to be dependent on the incident wave height distribution. Moreover, the adjusted formulae provide more accurate estimates of the wave loads on free walls without front armour protection. Pressure transducers with very high eigen-frequencies were used in the present model tests as opposed to the transducers applied by Pedersen which in some cases seem to have been affected by dynamic amplifications.     

广利河口航道整治研究

广利河口拦门沙航道水深较浅,用双导堤结合航道疏浚进行整治。通过潮流定床模型试验对航道走向、导堤间距、高程、水流流态和堤头布置等进行了方案优化,同时采用局部动床定性试验进行了验证。推荐方案沿程流速、流态分布合理,基本能维持航道水深并满足设计船型的航行条件,可供类似河口治理参考。     

Incremental elastoplastic FEM for simulating the deformation process of suction caissons subjected to cyclic loads in soft clays

This paper presents an incremental elastoplastic finite element method (FEM) to simulate the undrained deformation process of suction caisson foundations subjected to cyclic loads in soft clays. The method is developed by encoding the total-stress-based bounding surface model proposed by the authors in the ABAQUS software package. According to the model characteristics, elastoplastic stress states associated with the incremental strains of each iteration are determined using the sub-incremental explicit Euler algorithm, and the state parameters describing the cyclic accumulative rates of strains are updated by setting state variables during the calculations. The radial fallback method is also proposed to modify the stress states outside the bounding surface to the surface during determination of the elastoplastic stress states. The stress reversals of soil elements are judged by the angle between the incremental deviatoric stress and the exterior normal vector at the image stress point on the bounding surface to update the mapping centre and state variables during cyclic loading. To assess the general validity of the method, the reduced scale model tests and centrifuge tests of suction caissons subjected to cyclic loads are simulated using the method. Predictions are in relative good agreement with test results. Compared with the limit equilibrium and quasi-static methods, the method can not only determine the cyclic bearing capacity, but can also analyse the deformation process and the failure mechanisms of suction caisson under cyclic loads in soft clays.     

Impact Analysis of Air Gap Motion with Respect to Parameters of Mooring System for Floating Platform

In this paper, the impact analysis of air gap concerning the parameters of mooring system for the semi-submersible platform is conducted. It is challenging to simulate the wave, current and wind loads of a platform based on a model test simultaneously. Furthermore, the dynamic equivalence between the truncated and full-depth mooring system is still a tuff work. However, the wind and current loads can be tested accurately in wind tunnel model. Furthermore, the wave can be simulated accurately in wave tank test. The full-scale mooring system and the all environment loads can be simulated accurately by using the numerical model based on the model tests simultaneously. In this paper, the air gap response of a floating platform is calculated based on the results of tunnel test and wave tank. Meanwhile, full-scale mooring system, the wind, wave and current load can be considered simultaneously. In addition, a numerical model of the platform is tuned and validated by ANSYS AQWA according to the model test results. With the support of the tuned numerical model, seventeen simulation cases about the presented platform are considered to study the wave, wind, and current loads simultaneously. Then, the impact analysis studies of air gap motion regarding the length, elasticity, and type of the mooring line are performed in the time domain under the beam wave, head wave, and oblique wave conditions.     

Cyclic inelastic behavior and analytical modelling of pile–leg interaction in jacket type offshore platforms

Structures in locations susceptible to severe seismic disturbances should be designed properly in order to resist lateral forces induced by earthquake motions. Steel offshore platforms are some of those structures which are built to withstand environmental and accidental loads during oil exploitation operation. Particular attention is being paid to earthquake loads in seismic active areas because it directly influences the capacity of the offshore installations.

In this paper, a small-scaled planar platform has been modelled analytically using nonlinear finite element program, based on an experimental test, conducted simultaneously in order to assess the local and global behavior of pile–leg interaction in Jacket Type Offshore Platforms (JTOPs). A combination of nonlinear beam column elements and fatigue affected elements are used to capture the inelastic cyclic behavior of planar frame as accurately as possible. Results of analytical tests are to be compared with experiments and it is concluded that an analytical approach can be best used for modelling JTOPs with reasonable accuracy regardless of the type and scale of the structure. Moreover, a special study on joints has been carried out and the best model has been selected to simulate brittle behavior of joints resulting from heat affected zone.     

氯盐干湿环境下受弯横向裂缝对钢筋混凝土耐久性影响

为了研究持续开裂状态下横向裂缝对钢筋混凝土结构耐久性的影响特性,开展了8根受弯开裂钢筋混凝土梁构件的盐溶液干湿循环试验;借助无损检测技术和破损实测方法,分别对氯离子侵入量、钢筋半电池电位、腐蚀电流密度以及平均锈蚀率等进行了对比分析。研究结果表明,裂缝的存在将提高混凝土的渗透性,裂缝处及周围混凝土内的氯离子含量明显增大;对于一定裂缝分布状况的钢筋混凝土试验梁,内部钢筋的腐蚀电位、腐蚀电流密度以及平均锈蚀率均高于裂缝自愈及无裂缝的试验梁,并受到保护层厚度与裂缝开展状态的影响,其影响规律可用单位长度内的平均裂缝宽度与保护层厚度的比值wm/c来进行综合评价。综合试验结果,初步建议海洋干湿侵蚀环境下钢筋混凝土构件的最大裂缝宽度wmax宜小于0.003 3 c,相关结论可为海洋混凝土结构的耐久性设计提供参考。     

Loads and moments due to currents and wind on offshore gravity platforms

The environmental factors that influence the loads imposed on offshore structures are: the ice effects, tidal fluctuations, the wind, the currents and the waves. This paper considers the significance of loads and moments due to wind and currents on offshore gravity platforms. The alogarithm CURLOAD is given to evaluate loads and moments of gravity platforms due to wind and currents alone. This subroutine forms a part of a suite of computer programs F-WAVE which analyse and design gravity platforms under static and dynamic sea load conditions. The programs are tested on Condeep concrete gravity platforms. The output from CURLOAD shows a good agreement with the one predicted by the Condeep designers. In conclusions, the paper gives a comparative study of these results with those produced by the combined effects of wind, currents and waves.     

Numerical prediction of green water incidents

Green water loads on moored or sailing ships occur when an incoming wave significantly exceeds the freeboard and water runs onto the deck. In this paper, a Navier–Stokes solver with a free surface capturing scheme (i.e. the VOF model; [Hirt and Nichols, 1981]) is used to numerically model green water loads on a moored FPSO exposed to head sea waves. Two cases are investigated: first, green water on a fixed vessel has been analysed, where resulting waterheight on deck, and impact pressure on a deck mounted structure have been computed. These results have been compared to experimental data obtained by [Greco, 2001] and show very favourable agreement. Second, a full green water incident, including vessel motions has been modelled. In these computations, the vertical motion has been modelled by the use of transfer functions for heave and pitch, but the rotational contribution from the pitch motion has been neglected. The computed water height on deck has been compared to the experimental data obtained by [Buchner, 1995a] and it also shows very good agreement. The modelling in the second case was performed in both 2-D and 3-D with very similar results, which indicates that 3-D effects are not dominant.     

Behavior of a shallow plate anchor in clay under sustained loading

Laboratory model test results for the uplift of a shallow circular plate anchor embedded in a soft saturated clay are presented. For all tests the bottom of the anchor plate was vented to eliminate the mud suction force. The tests were divided into two categories: (1) short‐term tests to determine the variation of the net ultimate uplift capacity and hence the breakout factor with embedment ratio, and (2) creep tests with sustained uplift loads at varying embedment ratios. Based on the model test results, the variation with time, has been determined for the rate of strain of the soil located above the plate anchor. Empirical relationships for obtaining the rate of anchor uplift have been proposed.     

Third-order interactions,wave run-up and hydrodynamic loading on a vertical plate in an infinite wave field

The nonlinear wave interaction problem with a vertical plate of finite length is considered. Reference is made to previous experimental and numerical studies reported in Molin et al. [1–3], where it was shown that the observed run-up phenomena are due to third-order (or tertiary) interactions between the incoming and reflected wave systems. In this paper a new numerical model is proposed where the presence of lateral walls is relaxed. Run-up computations, with and without confinement effects, are compared. It is found that, in the model tests reported in Molin et al. [3], the effect of confinement was relatively small. The time-varying and steady wave loads which are exerted on the plate are also investigated. The dedicated numerical predictions show that as the wave steepness is increased the response amplitude operators of the time-varying loads first increase, reach a maximum and then decrease dramatically, due to phasing effects.