Wave-in-deck forces on fixed horizontal decks of offshore platforms

Copyright © 2014 by ASME. The problem of wave-in-deck loading on offshore structures involves complex physical mechanisms which require close study. In this paper, the wave-in-deck forces generated on the bottom plate of a rigidly mounted, box-shaped structure subjected to unidirectional regular waves are quantified by means of two approaches. The first is an analytical momentum approach recommended by classification societies and the second is a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach based on the volume of fluid (VOF) method implemented in the commercial code FLUENT. The change in force due to very small variations in wave steepness and air gap is investigated and discussed. Several numerical trials are conducted to optimise the computational domain and model discretisation suggestions are made. The numerical results are compared with physical model tests recently carried out at the Australian Maritime College (AMC). The results of the successive wave impacts are analysed using a discrete wavelet tool to ensure that the temporal information of slamming events is not lost in signal analysis and filtering. By comparing the theoretical and experimental results it was found that in many cases the momentum method underestimates the magnitude of the horizontal and upward directed wave-in-deck forces. Although the three-dimensional CFD cases tested are noticeably time-consuming, these simulations were found to be in good agreement with the experimental measurements.