A numerical study on local characteristics of predetermined irregular wave trains

In actual sea states, damage to offshore floating structures is usually caused by a few extreme waves or wave groups in an irregular wave train. Accurate simulation of the irregular wave trains can lay a solid foundation for understanding the local flow field and impact loads that would potentially cause such damage. This paper describes how the generation of a single extreme wave was investigated. Determination of the wave-maker motion for generating specified irregular wave trains is the key to this work. First, an experimental irregular wave train was decomposed into a certain number of small-amplitude waves. Fourier series expansion was performed to determine the amplitude and the initial phase angle of each wave component. Then a hydrodynamic transfer function was used to calculate the amplitude of the wave-maker motion associated with each wave component. Superposition was made on all the wave components to get the final wave-maker motion. During the numerical simulation, calculated horizontal velocity profiles of the extreme wave at different moments were analyzed and compared with experimental results, and a satisfactory agreement was obtained. In the simulation, VOF method was employed to capture the free surface, and a dissipation zone was used to deal with wave reflection.