Numerical study of seabed response and liquefaction around a jacket support offshore wind turbine foundation under combined wave and current loading

The seabed instability induced by the transient liquefaction when exposed to wave-current may threaten the safety of offshore structures.In this study,the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS)equations with the k-e turbulence model were used to imitate the fluid dynamics,and Biot's poro-elastic theory was used to simulate the transient seabed response.An in-house solver(porous-fluid-seabed-structure interactions-field operation and manipulation)integrating the flow model and seabed model with the finite volume method was developed.The present model was confirmed with published experimental results and then used to analyze the dynamic process of the fluid-seabed-structure interactions as well as seafloor liquefaction around the jacket foundation under wave-current loading.The simulated results showed that the depth and range for the liquefaction area around the jacket foundation tended to increase at first and then declined as the wave propagated forward in the absence of current.In addition,the results demonstrated that the liquefaction depth under current and wave in the same orientation was greater than that without current.It is worth mentioning that the downstream piles were more prone to liquefaction than the upstream piles when the forward current existed.

Study on scour around vertical large-size cylinder base due to combined action of wave and current

Based on the mechanism of local scour around vertical large-sized cylinder due to combined action of wave and current,the sour morphology,scour process and the maximum scour depth around the cylinders are studied experimentally.The influence of various ocean environmental parameters on local scour around the cylinder is considered in physical model test.The experimental results indicate that the principal effect factors on the scour in fine-sand seabed are wave height,wavelength,current velocity,ratio of diameter to wavelength and ratio of depth to wavelength when the ratio of cylinder diameter to wavelength is from 0.2 to 0.8.In this paper,dimensional analysis theory is utilized to establish a theoretical equation for forecasting maximum scour depth around large-sized round cylinder base due to the combined action of wave and current.The results computed with the theoretical equation are compared with the experimental results,and found to be in good consistency.The results in this studies can be used to estimate the maximum sour depth around analogous structures.

Research on the Dynamic Response of Submerged Floating Tunnels to Wave Currents and Traffic Load

Submerged floating tunnel(SFTs)are typically subjected to complex external environmental and internal loads such as wave currents and traffic load.In this study,this problem is investigated through a finite element method able to account for fluid-structure interaction.The obtained results show that increasing the number of vehicles per unit length enhances the transverse vibrational displacements of the SFT cross sections.Under ultimate traffic load condition,one-way and two-way syntropic distributions can promote the dynamic responses of SFTs whereas two-way reverse distributions have the opposite effect.

PREDICTION OF MAXIMUM SCOUR DEPTH AROUND LARGE DIAMETER CYLINDER UNDER THE EFFECTS OF BOTH WAVE AND CURRENT

Physical model tests were counducted to predict local scour and maximum scour depth around the large diameter cylinders located in the (sand) seabed under the action of both wave and current . According to the result of tests, an analysis was made on all the factors influencing the scour. The results shows that for the seabed with relative fine grains in shallow water (0.07<h/L≤0.28),when the relative diameter D/L of the cylinder is within 0.3 0.7,the main effective scour factors around the cylinder in the seabed are diameter D of the cylinder, the wave height H, the wave length L, the velocity V c of the current and the parameters related to the seabed soil texture. The main parameters influecing the maximum scour depth were analyzed, and the test data were syntherized, to obtain the formula predicting the scour depth around the large diameter cylinder under the of both wave and current.

Oscillatory velocity in boundary layer over mobile sediment bed under asymmetric wave and current conditions

The oscillatory flow provides the major dynamic force for the mass and energy transport in estuary and coastal areas.An analytical approximate velocity formula is proposed to evaluate the oscillation in the boundary layer over the mobile sediment bed of the sheet flow induced by the asymmetric wave and current.The velocity formula consists of an oscillatory force part and a constant force part corresponding to the Navier-Stokes equation of the asymmetric oscillatory sheet flow over the mobile sediment bed.The mobile sediment bed is defined by an erosion depth formula with consideration of the phase lag,the acceleration and the flow asymmetry.The wave part includes the phase lead parameters from all components of the free stream velocity.The development of the wave part is affected by the current part through the erosion depth and the boundary layer thickness.The erosion depth,the roughness height and the boundary layer thickness of the mobile sediment bed are introduced into the current part without a transition area for the wave-current eddy viscosity.The current part is induced by the wave eddy viscosity within the boundary layer and influenced by the wave-current apparent roughness outside the boundary layer.The velocity profile and duration are evaluated by an approximate velocity formula through experiments for both asymmetric wave and wave-current cases.The oscillation feature in the boundary layer is illustrated by the approximate velocity formula through the asymmetric wave cases over the mobile sediment bed.

Instantaneous sediment transport formula for sheet flow beneath asymmetric wave and current

An instantaneous formula is obtained for the sheet flow transport beneath the wave and the current by a product integration of the concentration and velocity profiles over the mobile seabed. The formula involves: (1) The product of the erosion depth and the free stream velocity, which can be reduced to the Shields parameter of power 3/2 in accordance with the classical formulae. (2) The ratio of the wave boundary layer thickness to the erosion depth. The formula incorporates the effects of the acceleration and the phase lag on the erosion depth, the asymmetric wave boundary layer and the wave-current interaction. The validation of the formula is made by the data obtained from the oscillatory tunnels covering a wide range of wave-current and sediment conditions. The instantaneous sediment transport rate is compared with the power function of the velocity with different exponents. The formula consists of a wave force part and a current force part and their relative importance depends on the wave shapes. The present formula gives very good results for the net sediment transport as compared to several existing steady and unsteady formulae. The net sediment transport rates are affected by not only the acceleration, the phase lag and the wave-current interaction, but also the asymmetric boundary layer development.

Dynamics of Submersible Mussel Rafts in Waves and Current

To investigate the dynamics of submersible mussel rafts, the finite element program Aqua-FETM, developed by the University of New Hampshire（UNH）, was applied to rafts moored at the surface and submerged. The submerged configuration is used to reduce wave forcing and to avoid contact with floating ice during winters in northern waters. Each raft consists of three pontoons connected by a grid framework. Rafts are intended to support densely spaced mussel ropes hung from the framework. When submerged, the pontoons are flooded, and the raft is held vertically by floats attached by lines. The computer models were developed in Aqua-FE？ to simulate the effects of waves and current. They were validated by comparison with wave tank results by use of a 1/10 scale raft physical model. Comparisons showed good agreement for the important heave（vertical） and pitch（rotational） motions, though there was a tendency towards conservative results for wave and current drag. Full-scale simulations of surface and submerged single raft and two rafts connected in tandem were performed. Submerged raft wave response was found to be reduced relative to that at the surface for both the single and two-raft configurations. In particular, the vertical motion of mussel rope connection points was significantly reduced by submergence, resulting in reduced potential for mussel drop-off. For example, the maximum vertical velocities of mussel rope attachment points in the submerged two raft case were 7%-20% of the corresponding velocities when at the surface.

Feasibility study on buoyancy-weight ratios of a submerged floating tunnel prototype subjected to hydrodynamic loads

The research progress of a novel traffic solution,a submerged floating tunnel（SFT）,is reviewed in terms of a study approach and loading scenario.Among existing publications,the buoyancy-weight ratio（BWR） is usually predefined.However,BWR is a critical structural parameter that tremendously affects the dynamic behaviour of not only the tunnel tube itself but also the cable system.In the context of a SFT prototype（SFTP） project in Qiandao Lake（Zhejiang Province,China）,the importance of BWR is illustrated by finite element analysis and subsequently,an optimized BWR is proposed within a reasonable range in the present study.In the numerical model,structural damping is identified to be of importance.Rayleigh damping and the corresponding Rayleigh coefficients are attained through a sensitivity study,which shows that the adopted damping ratios are fairly suitable for SFTP.Lastly,the human sense of security is considered by quantifying the comfort index,which helps further optimize BWR in the SFTP structural parameter design.