Systematically Varied Rogue Wave Sequences for the Experimental Investigation of Extreme Structure Behavior

Abstract

For an improved design of ships and offshore structures with regard to their behavior under severe weather conditions, wave height and steepness as well as the shape of the wave profile have to be considered. In this paper, the extreme new year wave as documented in numerous publications is varied with respect to wave height and period. These varied wave sequences are realized and measured in a model tank and applied to the investigation of motions and bending moments of a floating production storage and offloading ship. The results are compared to the responses in the original wave train. An investigation of the riskiness of extreme wave sequences in comparison with existing rules concludes this paper.

Characterizing Rogue Waves at the Entrance of Tampa Bay (Florida, USA)

“…A rogue wave is commonly characterized as a wave whose maximum height (H max ) exceeds the value of twice the significant wave height (H s ). H max indicates the zero-crossing maximum wave height and H s is defined as the mean wave height (trough to crest) of the highest third of the waves in the wave spectrum, which is usually calculated from a 20-to 30-min measurement of surface elevation [1][2][3][4]. This is a practical statistical definition that assumes that the ocean wave height distribution is Gaussian, i.e., a value of less than two times the significant wave height corresponds to 95% of sea surface variability.…”