Further Investigation on Wave Impact Loads on the Underside of a 2D Flat-Bottomed Model

Abstract

Slamming loads due to wave impact is a topic which can be related to several different situations in the areas of ocean engineering, such as the lowering of a subsea module through the wave splash zone during launching operations or wave loads underneath riser decks and other appendages on stationary units. In a previous study, the case of a flat-bottomed model submitted to regular incoming waves was explored numerically and experimentally to reproduce, in a reduced scale, cases available in the literature. The present work aims to further investigate the case of a flat box, extending the analysis to a broader combination of wave properties to verify their effects over the coefficients. Slamming and suction coefficients are adopted to represent the loads through nondimensional parameters. Experimental data is presented for a 2D assembly, with a detailed discussion on the methods for the evaluation of the nondimensional coefficients. Typical time series are presented, and different types of impact events are displayed. Estimations based on the von Karman based approach are presented and compared to experimental data. Model tests are carried out at the wave tank of the Laboratory of Waves and Currents (LOC – COPPE/UFRJ).