Introducing envelope soliton solutions for wave–structure investigations

Abstract

This paper explores the applicability of envelope soliton solutions of the non-linear Schrödinger-type equation as an innovative design wave for wave–structure interaction investigations. The major benefits of envelope solitons are the potential to generate non-linear wave groups of certain frequency and (physically possible) wave steepness as well as the availability of an analytical solution. Furthermore, the fact that envelope solitons are characterized by a limiting frequency bandwidth enables the tailor-made generation of critical wave conditions for task-specific wave–structure investigations. For the evaluation of the applicability of envelope solitons, wave–structure investigations with a chemical tanker were performed in a set of envelope solitons at certain frequencies and wave steepness. The applicability of envelope solitons as design waves as well as their impact on the chemical tanker are compared to classical design wave concepts and tailored extreme wave events. For the extreme wave events, the Peregrine breather solution and a real world abnormal wave reproduction, the famous ‘New Year Wave’, were selected. The investigations comprised model tests as well as numerical simulations. Altogether, this paper shows that envelope solitons are excellent design waves for extreme response investigations suitable for model tests as well as numerical investigations.