Two-dimensional flow characteristics of wave interactions with a free-rolling rectangular structure

This paper presents laboratory observations of flow characteristics for regular waves passing a rectangular structure in a two-dimensional wave tank. The structure with a draft one-half of its height was hinged at the center of gravity and free to roll (one degree of freedom) by waves. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to measure the velocity field in the vicinity of the structure. The mean velocity and turbulence properties were obtained by phase-averaging the PIV velocity maps from repeated test runs. Since the viscous damping (also called the eddy making damping) in a vortical flow affects the roll motion of a blunt body, the quantitative flow pattern was represented to elucidate the coupled interactions between the body motion and the waves. Additionally, the turbulence properties including the turbulence length scale and the turbulent kinetic energy budget were investigated to characterize the interactions. The results show that vortices were generated near the structure corners at locations opposing to that of the roll damping effect for waves with a period longer than the roll natural period of the structure.