Investigation of shallow water kinematics and local loading effects on reliability of minimum structures

Abstract

In shallow water, and specifically for minimum structures, the critical wave height exponent α has been shown to vary significantly with structural configuration (Tuty, et al., 2001). Because of the strong relationship to the wave kinematics, α is also sensitive to the wave theory chosen. The North West Shelf offshore Australia has numerous minimum structures located in relatively shallow water, which requires non-linear wave theory. In the near-breaking condition, estimation of the wave crest kinematics is difficult, with Stream Function theory being the most widely used. However, various other wave theories and non-linear numerical techniques have been developed to predict wave kinematics ..