Author(s): Andrew Cornett; Mark Hecimovich; Ioan Nistor
Linked Author(s): Ioan Nistor
Keywords: Wave load; Wave force; Water intake; Coastal engineering; Scale model 1
Abstract: Submerged water intake structures are commonly used to collect seawater for cooling in industrial facilities such as power stations, refineries and LNG plants. A typical submerged intake structure for a coastal site consists of an open-ended vertical pipe located above the seabed and below a horizontal plate supported on several columns. The horizontal plate, known as a velocity cap, helps mitigate vortex formation and protects against entrainment of fish and other marine life. Estimating wave-induced forces on these types of structures is challenging, particularly when the intakes are located under breaking waves in shallow water. The relationships between wave properties and forces are not well understood, and no simple methods are available to predict hydrodynamic loads on submerged intakes, particularly those below breaking waves. This paper presents results from a series of experiments conducted in a wave flume at 1: 15 scale to study the hydrodynamic forces exerted on a generic intake structure located on a sloping seabed in shallow water below breaking and non-breaking waves. The model intake structure was exposed to a wide range of regular and irregular wave conditions at three water levels, while the wave properties, kinematics, and 6-axis forces on the intake structure were all measured continuously. The measurements have been analyzed to discover the relationship between the wave conditions and the forcing – for different parts of the intake and for the whole structure. This paper provides new insights concerning the hydrodynamic loads on submerged intake structures in shallow water under breaking and non-breaking waves.
Year: 2013