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A Comparison of Measured and Predicted Wave-Impact Pressures from Breaking and Non-breaking Waves

Impact loads from waves on vessels and coastal structures are complex and may involve wave breaking, which has made these loads difficult to estimate numerically or empirically. Results from previous experiments have shown a wide range of forces and pressures measured from breaking and nonbreaking waves, with no clear trend between wave characteristics and the localized forces and pressures that they generate. In 2008, a canonical breaking wave impact data set was obtained at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, by measuring the distribution of impact pressures of incident nonbreaking and breaking waves on one face of a cube. This experimental effort was sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), under the Dynamics of Interacting Platforms Program, Program Manager Dr. Ron Joslin. The effects of wave height, wavelength, face orientation, face angle, and submergence depth were investigated. Additionally, a limited number of runs were made at low forward speeds, ranging from about 0.5 to 2 knots (0.26 to 1.03 m/s).