Second order wave diffraction around a fixed ship-shaped body in unidirectional steep waves

The objective of this research, part of the EU FP5 REBASDO Program, is to examine the effects of second order wave diffraction in wave run-up around the bow of a vessel (FPSO) in random seas. In this work, the nonlinear wave scattering problem is solved by employing a quadratic boundary element method. A computer program, DIFFRACT, has been developed and recently extended to deal with unidirectional and directional bichromatic input wave systems, calculating second order wave diffraction loads and free surface elevation under regular waves and focused wave groups. The second order wave interaction with a vessel in a unidirectional focused wave group is presented in this paper. Comparison of numerical results and experimental measurements conducted at Imperial College shows excellent agreement. The second order free surface components at the bow of the ship are very significant, and cannot be neglected if one requires accurate prediction of the wave-structure interaction; otherwise a major underestimation of the wave impact on the structure could occur.