The irregular broken wave forces on vertical wall

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Linear and nonlinear irregular waves and forces in a numerical wave tank

A time-domain higher-order boundary element scheme was utilized to simulate the linear and nonlinear irregular waves and diffractions due to a structure. Upon the second-order irregular waves with four Airy wave components being fed through the inflow boundary, the fully nonlinear boundary problem was solved in a time-marching scheme. The open boundary was modeled by combining an absorbing beach and the stretching technique. The proposed numerical scheme was verified by simulating the linear regular and irregular waves. The scheme was further applied to compute the linear and nonlinear irregular wave diffraction forces acting on a vertical truncated circular cylinder. The nonlinear results were also verified by checking the accuracy of the nonlinear simulation.     

On a near-optimal control approach for a wave energy converter in irregular waves

Real-time smooth reactive control and optimal damping of wave energy converters in irregular waves is difficult in part because the radiation impulse response function is real and causal, which constrains the frequency-dependent added mass and radiation damping according to the Kramers–Kronig relations. Optimal control for maximum energy conversion requires independent synthesis of the impulse response functions corresponding to these two quantities. Since both are non-causal (one being odd and other even), full cancellation of reactive forces and matching of radiation damping requires knowledge or estimation of device velocity into the future. To address this difficulty and the non-causality of the exciting force impulse response function, this paper investigates the use of propagating-wave surface elevation up-wave of the device to synthesize the necessary forces. Long-crested waves are assumed, and the approach is based on the formulations of Naito and Nakamura [2] and Falnes [22]. A predominantly heaving submerged device comprised of three vertically stacked discs driving a linear power take-off is studied. The overall formulation leads to smooth control that is near-optimal, given the approximations involved in the time-shifting of the non-causal impulse response functions and the consequent up-wave distances at which wave surface elevation is required. Absorbed power performance with the near-optimal approach is compared with two other cases, (i) when single-frequency tuning is used based on non-real time adjustment of the reactive and resistive loads to maximize conversion at the spectral peak frequency, and (ii) when no control is applied with damping set to a constant value. Simulation results for wave spectra over a range of energy periods and significant wave heights are compared for the three situations studied. While practical implementation presents engineering challenges, in terms of time-averaged absorbed power, unconstrained near-optimal control is found to perform significantly better than single-frequency tuning in the spectra with longer energy periods (>10 s for the present device), and somewhat better in the spectra with shorter energy periods (here ≤10 s).     

Seismic amplifications from offshore to shore

The objective of this study is to determine numerical estimations of seismic amplifications of waves traveling from offshore to shore considering the effect of sea floor configurations. According to the Boundary Element Method, boundary elements were used to irradiate waves and density force can be determined for each element. From this hypothesis, Huygens’ Principle is implemented since diffracted waves are constructed at the boundary from which they are radiated and this is equivalent to Somigliana's theorem. Application of boundary conditions leads to determine a system of integral equations of Fredholm type of second kind, which is solved by the Gaussian method. Various numerical models were analyzed, a first one was used to validate the proposed formulation and some other models were used to show various ideal sea floor configurations to estimate seismic amplifications. Once the formulation was validated, basic slope configurations were studied for estimating spectra of seismic amplifications for various sea floor materials. In general terms, compressional waves (P-waves) can produce seismic amplifications of the incident wave in the order of 2–5. On the other hand, distortional waves (S-waves) can produce amplifications up to 5.5 times the incident wave. A relevant finding is that the highest seismic amplifications due to an offshore earthquake are always located near the shore-line and not offshore despite the seafloor configuration.     

Near-optimal control of a wave energy device in irregular waves with deterministic-model driven incident wave prediction

This paper investigates wave-by-wave control of a wave energy converter using incident wave prediction based on up-wave surface elevation measurement. The goal of control is to approach the hydrodynamically optimum velocity leading to optimum power absorption. This work aims to study the gains in energy conversion from a deterministic wave propagation model that accounts for a range of group velocities in deriving the prediction. The up-wave measurement distance is assumed to be small enough to allow a deterministic propagation model, and further, both wave propagation and device response are assumed to be linear. For deep water conditions and long-crested waves, the propagation process is also described using an impulse response function (e.g. [1]). Approximate low and high frequency limits for realistic band-limited spectra are used to compute the corresponding group velocity limits. The prediction time into the future is based on the device impulse response function needed for the evaluation of the control force. The up-wave distance and the duration of measurement are then determined using the group velocity limits above.A 2-body axisymmetric heaving device is considered, for which power capture is through the relative heave oscillation between the two co-axial bodies. The power take-off is assumed to be linear and ideal as well as capable of applying the necessary resistive and reactive load components on the relative heave oscillation. The predicted wave profile is used along with device impulse response functions to compute the actuator force components at each instant. Calculations are carried out in irregular waves generated using a number of uni-modal wave spectra over a range of energy periods and significant wave heights. Results are compared with previous studies based on the use of instantaneous up-wave wave-profile measurements, both without and with oscillation constraints imposed. Considerable improvements in power capture are observed with the present approach over the range of wave conditions studied.     

Numerical modelling of a point-absorbing wave energy converter in irregular and extreme waves

Based on the Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, a three-dimensional (3-D) mathematical model for the hydrodynamics and structural dynamics of a floating point-absorbing wave energy converter (WEC) with a stroke control system in irregular and extreme waves is presented. The model is validated by a comparison of the numerical results with the wave tank experiment results of other researchers. The validated model is then utilized to examine the effect of wave height on structure displacements and connection rope tension. In the examined cases, the differences in WEC’s performance exhibited by an inviscid fluid and a viscous fluid can be neglected. Our results also reveal that the differences in behavior predicted by boundary element method (BEM) and the RANS-based method can be significant and vary considerably, depending on wave height.     

Laboratory study of wave and turbulence velocities in a broad-banded irregular wave surf zone

The characteristics of wave and turbulence velocities created by a broad-banded irregular wave train breaking on a 1:35 slope were studied in a laboratory wave flume. Water particle velocities were measured simultaneously with wave elevations at three cross-shore locations inside the surf zone. The measured data were separated into low-frequency and high-frequency time series using a Fourier filter. The measured velocities were further separated into organized wave-induced velocities and turbulent velocity fluctuations by ensemble averaging. The broad-banded irregular waves created a wide surf zone that was dominated by spilling type breakers. A wave-by-wave analysis was carried out to obtain the probability distributions of individual wave heights, wave periods, peak wave velocities, and wave-averaged turbulent kinetic energies and Reynolds stresses. The results showed that there was a consistent increase in the kurtosis of the vertical velocity distribution from the surface to the bottom. The abnormally large downward velocities were produced by plunging breakers that occurred from time to time. It was found that the mean of the highest one-third wave-averaged turbulent kinetic energy values in the irregular waves was about the same as the time-averaged turbulent kinetic energy in a regular wave with similar deep-water wave height to wavelength ratio. It was also found that the correlation coefficient of the Reynolds stress varied strongly with turbulence intensity. Good correlation between u′ and w′ was obtained when the turbulence intensity was high; the correlation coefficient was about 0.3–0.5. The Reynolds stress correlation coefficient decreased over a wave cycle, and with distance from the water surface. Under the irregular breaking waves, turbulent kinetic energy was transported downward and landward by turbulent velocity fluctuations and wave velocities, and upward and seaward by the undertow. The undertow in the irregular waves was similar in vertical structure but lower in magnitude than in regular waves, and the horizontal velocity profiles under the low-frequency waves were approximately uniform.     

A data-driven method for optimal control of ship motions for safe crew transfer to offshore wind turbines

Due to uncertainties and random behavior of sea loads, presenting an accurate hydrodynamic analysis for motion control of offshore ships is a big challenge. This paper aims to propose a novel method for motion control of a crew transfer vessel (CTV) in order to ensure safe crew transfer to an offshore wind turbine (OWT). For this purpose, we propose a novel neural network observer-based optimal control (NOPC) scheme to tackle unknown dynamics and disturbances, nonlinear effects, and non-symmetric control input saturation constraints. Accordingly, the neural network (NN) structure addresses the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation and forms an optimal control signal remaining in the saturation bounds. The Lyapunov theory guarantees the Ultimately Uniformly Boundedness (UUB) of all signals of the closed-loop system. The high performance of the presented method is demonstrated in regular waves with high frequency in comparison with the previous studies. It is worth mentioning that there are not any limitations to implement the adopted strategy for other offshore applications.     

Dynamic behaviour of axially pre-loaded tubular steel members of offshore structures subjected to impact damage

The behaviour of an axially pre-loaded cylindrical member of an offshore structure, hit by a supply ship, has been investigated. The effects of axial pre-loading on the dynamic properties of members, the extent of damage and propagation of dynamic instability in the tubular members have also been investigated. Numerical models have been validated using available experimental data from the literature although these are mostly static with no pre-loading. Axial pre-loading was found to change the dynamic characteristics of some cylindrical members quite dramatically while it had no significant effect on others. The study examined whether there was any change in the behaviour between local and global modes when the loading was dynamic rather than static. The effect of damping on the dynamic instability of axially pre-loaded tubes under lateral dynamic loads was also studied. It was observed that for some geometries the quasi-static response can be used to define the boundary between bounded and unbounded dynamic responses. The main contribution of this study, compared with previous investigations reported in the literature, is that both pre-loading and dynamic effects have been included.     

Constrained near-optimal control of a wave energy converter in three oscillation modes

This paper investigates the performance of a small axisymmetric buoy under wave-by-wave near optimal control in surge, heave, and pitch modes in long-crested irregular waves. Wave prediction is obtained using a deterministic propagation model. The paper describes the overall formulation leading up to the derivation of the feedforward control forces in surge and heave, and the control moment in pitch. The radiation coupling between surge and pitch modes is accounted for in the model. Actuation is relative to deeply submerged reaction masses. Heave oscillations are constrained by the swept-volume limit. Oscillation constraints are also applied on the surge and pitch oscillations. The paper discusses time-domain simulations for an irregular wave input with and without the present control. Also discussed are results obtained over a range of irregular wave conditions derived for energy periods from 7 s to 17 s, and a significant wave height of 1 m. It is found that, while the gains in power capture enabled by the present control are significant, the actuation forces are also very large, given the small size of the buoy. Further, due to the small size, heave is found to be the dominant contributor to power capture, with relatively modest contributions from surge and pitch.     

Probability models for offshore structural response due to Morison wave loading Part I: Drag-only response

Offshore structures are exposed to random wave loading in the ocean environment and hence the probability distribution of their response to wave loading is a minimum requirement for efficient probabilistic analysis of these structures. Due to nonlinearity of Morison wave loading and also due to intermittency of wave loading on members in the splash zone, the response is often non-Gaussian. Analysis of simulated data has, however, shown that neither of the two probability models proposed in the literature can accurately predict the tails of the response distribution. New probability models are therefore required to overcome this deficiency. This paper is composed of two parts: Part I is devoted to the development and validation of a new probability model for drag-only responses (i.e. responses due to the drag component of Morison wave loading), while Part II is devoted to the development and validation of new probability models for both inertia-only and total responses.     

Incorporating irregular nonlinear waves in coupled simulation and reliability studies of offshore wind turbines

Design of an offshore wind turbine requires estimation of loads on its rotor, tower and supporting structure. These loads are obtained by time-domain simulations of the coupled aero-servo-hydro-elastic model of the wind turbine. Accuracy of predicted loads depends on assumptions made in the simulation models employed, both for the turbine and for the input wind and wave conditions. Currently, waves are simulated using a linear irregular wave theory that is not appropriate for nonlinear waves, which are even more pronounced in shallow water depths where wind farms are typically sited. The present study investigates the use of irregular nonlinear (second-order) waves for estimating loads on the support structure (monopile) of an offshore wind turbine. We present the theory for the irregular nonlinear model and incorporate it in the commonly used wind turbine simulation software, FAST, which had been developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), but which had the modeling capability only for irregular linear waves. We use an efficient algorithm for computation of nonlinear wave elevation and kinematics, so that a large number of time-domain simulations, which are required for prediction of long-term loads using statistical extrapolation, can easily be performed. To illustrate the influence of the alternative wave models, we compute loads at the base of the monopile of the NREL 5MW baseline wind turbine model using linear and nonlinear irregular wave models. We show that for a given environmental condition (i.e., the mean wind speed and the significant wave height), extreme loads are larger when computed using the nonlinear wave model. We finally compute long-term loads, which are required for a design load case according to the International Electrotechnical Commission guidelines, using the inverse first-order reliability method. We discuss a convergence criteria that may be used to predict accurate 20-year loads and discuss wind versus wave dominance in the load prediction. We show that 20-year long-term loads can be significantly higher when the nonlinear wave model is used.     

Probability models for offshore structural response due to Morison wave loading: Part II: Inertia-only and total responses

Offshore structures are exposed to random wave loading in the ocean environment and hence the probability distribution of their response to wave loading is a minimum requirement for efficient probabilistic analysis of these structures. Due to nonlinearity of Morison wave loading and also due to intermittency of wave loading on members in the splash zone, the response is often non-Gaussian. Part I of this paper was devoted to the development and validation of a new probability model for drag-only responses (i.e. responses due to the drag component of Morison wave loading). This part is devoted to the development and validation of new probability models for both inertia-only and total responses.     

Laboratory study of wave and turbulence characteristics in narrow-band irregular breaking waves

Wave elevations and water particle velocities were measured in a laboratory surf zone created by the breaking of a narrow-band irregular wave train on a 1/35 plane slope. The incident waves form wave groups that are strongly modulated. It is found that the waves that break close to the shoreline generally have larger wave-height-to-water-depth ratios before breaking than the waves that break farther offshore. After breaking, the wave-height-to-water-depth ratio for the individual waves approaches a constant value in the inner surf zone, while the standard deviation of the wave period increases as the still water depth decreases. In the outer surf zone, the distribution of the period-averaged turbulent kinetic energy is closely correlated to the initial wave heights, and has a wider variation for narrow-band waves than for broad-band waves. In the inner surf zone, the distribution of the period-averaged turbulent kinetic energy is similar for narrow-band waves and broad-band waves. It is found that the wave elevation and turbulent kinetic energy time histories for the individual waves in a wave group are qualitatively similar to those found in a spilling regular wave. The time-averaged transport of turbulent kinetic energy by the ensemble-averaged velocity and turbulence velocity under the irregular breaking waves are also consistent with the measurements obtained in regular breaking waves. The experimental results indicate that the shape of the incident wave spectrum has a significant effect on the temporal and spatial variability of wave breaking and the distribution of turbulent kinetic energy in the outer surf zone. In the inner surf zone, however, the distribution of turbulent kinetic energy is relatively insensitive to the shape of the incident wave spectrum, and the important parameters are the significant wave height and period of the incident waves, and the beach slope.     

Surf zone dynamics simulated by a Boussinesq type model. Part II: surf beat and swash oscillations for wave groups and irregular waves

This is the second of three papers on the modelling of various types of surf zone phenomena. In the first paper the general model was described and it was applied to study cross-shore motion of regular waves in the surf zone. In this paper, part II, we consider the cross-shore motion of wave groups and irregular waves with emphasis on shoaling, breaking and runup as well as the generation of surf beats. These phenomena are investigated numerically by using a time-domain Boussinesq type model, which resolves the primary wave motion as well as the long waves. As compared with the classical Boussinesq equations, the equations adopted here allow for improved linear dispersion characteristics and wave breaking is modelled by using a roller concept for spilling breakers. The swash zone is included by incorporating a moving shoreline boundary condition and radiation of short and long period waves from the offshore boundary is allowed by the use of absorbing sponge layers. Mutual interaction between short waves and long waves is inherent in the model. This allows, for example, for a general exchange of energy between triads rather than a simple one-way forcing of bound waves and for a substantial modification of bore celerities in the swash zone due to the presence of long waves. The model study is based mainly on incident bichromatic wave groups considering a range of mean frequencies, group frequencies, modulation rates, sea bed slopes and surf similarity parameters. Additionally, two cases of incident irregular waves are studied. The model results presented include transformation of surface elevations during shoaling, breaking and runup and the resulting shoreline oscillations. The low frequency motion induced by the primary-wave groups is determined at the shoreline and outside the surf zone by low-pass filtering and subsequent division into incident bound and free components and reflected free components. The model results are compared with laboratory experiments from the literature and the agreement is generally found to be very good. Finally the paper includes special details from the breaker model: time and space trajectories of surface rollers revealing the breakpoint oscillation and the speed of bores; envelopes of low-pass filtered radiation stress and surface elevation; sensitivity of surf beat to group frequency, modulation rate and bottom slope is investigated. Part III of this work (Sørensen et al., 1998) presents nearshore circulations induced by the breaking of unidirectional and multi-directional waves.     

Stochastic control of wave energy converters for optimal power absorption with constrained control force

This paper presents an analytical solution derived for optimal control of the power take-off of a single-degree of freedom heave point absorber with constraints on the control force. The optimal control law turns out to be noncausal with a functional dependence on future velocities. To handle this problem, an algorithm for predicting future velocities is derived. Based on the solution the mean (time-averaged) absorbed power in a given sea-state is calculated. The performance of the indicated controller in terms of the mean absorbed power is close to the optimal value obtained by nonlinear programming and better than a controller with feedback from the present displacement, velocity and acceleration, and with optimized gain factors.     

Stochastic control of wave energy converters with constrained displacements for optimal power absorption

An semi-analytical solution is derived for the optimal control of the power take-off of a single-degree of freedom heave point absorber with constraints on the displacement. At first the control force is derived during states, where the displacement constraint is active. This results in an open-loop control law dependent on the external wave load on the absorber. Next, the analytical solution for the optimal control in the unconstrained state is indicated, which turns out to be of the closed loop type with feedback from the present displacement and acceleration and from future velocities. The derived control law contains an undetermined constant, which is calibrated at the interface to the previous constrained state. The approach requires the estimation of the wave load during the constrained states, and the prediction of the future velocity response during unconstrained states. An algorithm has been devised in the paper for handling these problems. The theory has been validated against numerical solutions obtained by nonlinear programming.     

Wind and wave induced behaviour of offshore guyed tower platforms

Offshore guyed tower platforms belong to the group of compliant offshore platforms which are most suited for deep water exploration. The basic feature of compliant offshore platforms is that they are designed to move with the waves, in at least some degrees-of-freedom. As far as excitation of wave frequencies is concerned, the system opposes wave forces by inertial effects. The offshore guyed tower derives its stability against lateral movement from its mooring system.In this study, the response of offshore guyed towers to random forces generated by wind and wave is investigated. The exposed portion of the tower is subjected to the action of turbulent wind, while the submerged portion is acted upon by random wave forces. The analysis includes the nonlinearities due to the Morison equation of drag force, the variable submergence effect due to waves, the instantaneous position of the tower and force excursion relation of the mooring lines. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the behaviour of the tower under waves, and the combined effect of wind and wave forces.     

内波的生成、传播、遥感观测及其与海洋结构物相互作用研究进展

内波是层结海洋中普遍存在的一种海洋动力学现象,包含内潮、内孤立波、近惯性内波等多种形式,由于其携带能量巨大,分布范围广,发生频率高,对海洋结构物造成严重威胁。对国内外关于内波生成、传播演化、海遥感观测及其与海洋结构物相互作用方面的研究进展进行综述。总结了关于内波的生成机制、浅水和深水区域内波传播演化特征、实际海洋内波特征的遥感观测以及内波与海洋平台及水下潜器相互作用的研究成果,讨论了数值模拟、模型试验、遥感观测等研究手段在海洋内波研究中的应用以及取得的相应研究成果。最后,在探讨海洋内波研究趋势的基础上对未来关于内波生成机制及其海洋学特征观测相关研究需考虑和解决的问题进行了展望。