Calculation of Wave Height Dependent Force RAO’s on Submerged Bodies in Close Proximity to the Free Surface

Diffraction calculations overpredict motion RAO’s and force RAO’s in cases where a small layer of water is present on top of a submerged body. This was observed after conducting model tests on a free floating SSCV Thialf and a captive submerged cylinder. A parameter study is done to get a better understanding of why diffraction calculations overpredict the forces in heave direction. From this study it was observed that unrealistically high water elevations existed on top of the cylinder causing the heave forces to be overestimated. A damping lid is therefore implemented to decrease this water elevation. On top of that, a new method is developed to be able to capture the dependency of the force RAO on the wave height. This method uses the instantaneous submergence height (the height of water on top of the submerged body) to determine the time averaged force RAO for a given wave height and wave frequency.