Wave uplift force on horizontal panels: a laboratory study

• Published in: 海洋湖沼学报（英文版） Vol. 37; no. 6; pp. 1899 - 1911
• Main Authors: LIU Qingjun, SUN Tianting, WANG Dengting, WEI Zhangping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: College of Harbour Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China 2019; Key Laboratory of Port, Waterway & Sedimentation Engineering of MOT, Nanjing 210029, China%Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing 210029, China; Key Laboratory of Port, Waterway & Sedimentation Engineering of MOT, Nanjing 210029, China%Department of Civil Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing 210029, China
• Subjects: horizontal panels; empirical formula; wave-structure interaction; wave uplift force; laboratory experiment
• ISSN: 0254-4059

Accurate estimation of wave uplift force is essential to the designs of reliable coastal and marine structures.We presents a series of laboratory work here on the impact of regular waves on horizontal panels,from which an empirical formula to estimate accurately the wave uplift force on panels is established.The laboratory measurements show that the wave uplift force depends mainly on the incident wave height,the wave period,the wave length,the panel width,and the clearance between the subsurface of the panel and the still water level.Among these factors,the impact of the panel width on uplift forces is relatively complicated.Result shows that the relative panel width (i.e.,the ratio of panel width to wave length) plays a more important role in estimating the wave uplift force.Based on our comprehensive laboratory measurements,we further developed an empirical formula to compute wave uplift force on horizontal panels through dimensionless analysis.Compared with other empirical formulas,this formula uses dimensionless variables of clear physical meanings,thus can describe the interaction between waves and the panels in a better way.In addition,the efficiency of the formula to estimate wave uplift force on horizontal panels is verified against existing works.Therefore,the findings in this study shall be useful for understanding the mechanism of wave uplift force on horizontal panels and numerical model validation.