Numerical calculation of forces induced by short-crested waves on a vertical cylinder of arbitrary cross-section

Abstract

Most off-shore oil platforms are supported by vertical cylinders extending to the ocean floor. An important problem in off-shore engineering is the calculation of the wave loading exerted on these vertical cylinders. Analytical solutions have been found for the case of plane incident waves incident on a circular cylinder by MacCamy and Fuchs [(1954), Wave forces on piles: a diffraction theory. U.S. Army Corps of Engineering, Beach Erosion Board, Technical Memorandum No. 69] and also for short-crested waves incident on a circular cylinder by Zhu [(1993), Diffraction of short-crested waves around a circular cylinder. Ocean Engng 20, 389–407]. However, for a cylinder of arbitrary cross-section, no analytic solutions currently exist. Au and Brebbia [(1983), Diffraction of water waves for vertical cylinders using boundary elements. Appl. Math. Modelling 7, 106–114] proposed an efficient numerical approach to calculate the wave loads induced by plane waves on vertical cylinders by using the boundary element method. However, wind-generated waves are better modelled by short-crested waves. Whether or not these short-crested waves can induce larger wave forces on a structure is of great concern to ocean engineers. In this paper wave loads, induced by short-crested incident waves, on a vertical cylinder of arbitrary cross-section are discussed. For a cylinder of certain cross-section, the wave loads induced by short-crested waves can be larger than those induced by plane waves with the same total wave number.