This thesis proposes an improvement to present near-shore wave prediction models. Using weakly dispersive Boussinesq theory, the shoaling of directionally spread surface gravity waves over a beach with gentle gradients in the cross-shore and alongshore directions is examined. Following Herbers and Burton (1997), the governing fluid flow equations are expanded to third order and depth-integrated over the water column. A resulting amplitude evolution equation for a spectrum of waves is derived, which is the main result of this paper. New terms in the higher order result include effects due to alongshore bottom slope, higher order cross-shore depth variations, and non-linear quartet interactions. The linear terms in this equation are verified by analytical methods using linear finite depth theory. Example computations for a monochromatic wave train over a plane beach quantify some of the improvements of this result over the lower order model. Opportunities for further development and verification of this result are proposed, and recommendations for application of the result in its present form are outlined. / US Navy (USN) author

This thesis presents the results of an investigation into the application of statistical energy analysis (SEA) to predict structure-borne noise transmission in ship structures. The first three chapters introduce the problems of noise and vibration in ships; the previous research on the application of SEA to ships; the basic theory of SEA and the experimental measurement techniques and procedures used to gather data The main body of this thesis presents a wave transmission model for the hull frame joint which is commonly encountered on the hull, bulkheads and deck plates of ship structures. The wave model allows the transmission coefficients to be calculated for hull frame joints which can be used in the coupling loss factor equations of SEA models. The joint model has been verified against measured data taken on a simple two subsystem single joint laboratory structures and a large complex 38 plate test structure with multiple joints intended to represent a 1/10' scale model of a hull section. In addition to the laboratory structures, the SEA modelling of sections of a ship is presented for a large ribbed deck plate, a section of the ship superstructure and a section of the ships hull. The results from the SEA models are compared with measured attenuation data taken on the respective ship sections. A large amount of damping data has been gathered on the test and ship structures and an equation for the internal steel based on data gathered by other researchers has been verified. It has been shown in this thesis that SEA can be applied to ships. Better agreement is found with real structures in contrast to the poor results presented for SEA when applied to simple one dimensional structures. The level of detail of the model is important as a coarse model yields better predictions of vibration level. As with all models the results are sensitive to the damping level and it is necessary to include bending, longitudinal and transverse wave types in any SEA model to obtain the best prediction. It was also found that the flange plates can be neglected from the frame joint model without compromising the accuracy.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S. in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography)--Naval Postgraduate School, Sept. 2001. / Thesis advisor, Herbers, Thomas H.C. "September 2001." Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-48). Also available in print.

Rogue waves are unexpected, individual ocean surface waves that are disproportionately large compared to the background sea state. They present considerable risk to mariners and offshore structures when encountered in large seas. Rogue waves have gone from seafarer’s folktales to an actively researched and debated phenomenon. In this work an easily derived spectral parameter, as an indicator of rogue wave risk, is presented, and further evidence for the generation mechanism responsible for these abnormal waves is provided. With the additional goal of providing a practical rogue wave forecast, the ability of a standard wave model to predict the rogue wave probability is assessed. Current forecasts, like those at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), rely on the Benjamin Feir Index (BFI) as a rogue wave predictor, which reflects the nonlinear process of modulation instability as the generation mechanism for rogue waves. However, this analysis finds BFI has little predictive power in the real ocean. From the analysis of long term sea surface elevation records in nearshore areas and hourly bulk statistics from open ocean and coastal buoys in the Northeast Pacific, crest-trough correlation shows the highest correlation with rogue wave probability. These results provide evidence in support of a probabilistic prediction of rogue waves based on random linear superposition and should replace forecasts based on modulation instability. Crest-trough correlation was then forecast by a regional WAVEWATCH III ® wave model with moderate accuracy compared with the high performance of forecasting significant wave height. Results from a case study of a large fall storm October 21-22, 2021, are presented to show that the regional wave model produces accurate forecasts of significant wave height at high seas and presents a potential rogue wave probability forecast. / Graduate

The primary function of seawalls and embankments is to protect against damage and injury caused by flooding. Coastal flooding is caused by combinations of high tides, waves, wind set-up and storm surges driven by low-pressure systems. However with global warming causing sea levels to rise and with increased storminess causing more extreme waves and storm surges, the likelihood of overtopping of seawalls with zero or negative freeboard may well be expected to increase. Researchers using physical and numerical models to develop design formulae have widely investigated wave overtopping of seawalls with positive freeboard. However the design of seawalls with zero or negative freeboard has attracted much less attention, and some variation exists between overtopping discharge calculated with current design formulae. The focus of this thesis is the extreme situation when overtopping caused by storm waves is combined with surge levels above the embankment crest. The local highly accelerative flow over the embankment crest caused by the high surge level will significantly alter the flow at the crest. This is likely to have a highly non-linear effect upon the overtopping waves. In this thesis, the flow is investigated with a 2DV numerical model based on the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations developed by Lin and Liu (1998a). The model describes the flow characteristics of a breaking wave such as the velocities within the wave as well as the turbulence at the seabed boundary layer. As an example of the model’s ability to describe complex hydrodynamic flows, this study investigates its ability to represent the second order mass transport under progressive and standing waves. The model results are compared with available theory and experimental results. This shows that mass transport is successfully predicted, although there is some variation in the magnitude compared to the experimental and theoretical results. To consider the model’s ability to simulate storm surge wave overtopping of embankments, the RANS model has been used to simulate an experimental study conducted by Hughes and Nadal (2009). To examine the success of the model at reproducing the wave generation, transformation and overtopping processes the model results have been compared with the experimental laboratory data. This makes possible a wave-by-wave comparison of overtopping parameters such as discharge, depth and velocity for a storm surge event. Additionally the overtopping discharge predicted by the model is compared with design formulae and the differences in the overtopping discharge calculated with current design formulae are investigated and explained. Finally, the RANS model is used to determine the effect of embankment crest width on the magnitude of the overtopping discharge. Results from RANS model tests are used to provide design guidance in the form of an equation that allows the effect of crest width to be included when evaluating combined discharge at embankments.

The Kinematic-wave model is one of the models proposed to simulate vehicular traffic. It has not received widespread use because of poor understanding of associated interface conditions and early use of incorrect numerical schemes used. This thesis analyzes mathematically correct boundary and interface conditions in the context of the Godunov method as the numerical scheme for the simulation software created. This thesis simulates a set of scenarios originally proposed by Ross, to verify the validity of simulation. The results of the simulation are compared against the corresponding results of Ross, and against intuitive expectation of the behavior of actual traffic under the scenarios. Our results tend either to agree with or improve upon those reported by Ross, who used alternate models.

The Kinematic-wave model is one of the models proposed to simulate vehicular traffic. It has not received widespread use because of poor understanding of associated interface conditions and early use of incorrect numerical schemes used. This thesis analyzes mathematically correct boundary and interface conditions in the context of the Godunov method as the numerical scheme for the simulation software created. This thesis simulates a set of scenarios originally proposed by Ross, to verify the validity of simulation. The results of the simulation are compared against the corresponding results of Ross, and against intuitive expectation of the behavior of actual traffic under the scenarios. Our results tend either to agree with or improve upon those reported by Ross, who used alternate models.

No description available.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / Accurate predictions of nearshore wave conditions are critical to the success of military operations in the littoral environment. Although linear spectral-refraction theory is used by the main operational forecasting centers in the world for these predictions, owing to a lack of field studies its accuracy in regions of complex bathymetry such as steep shoals and submarine canyons is unknown. This study examines the accuracy of linear spectral-refraction theory in areas of complex nearshore bathymetry with three months of extensive wave data collected during the Nearshore Canyon Experiment (NCEX) held in the fall of 2003. The field site, off La Jolla California, is characterized by two submarine canyons that strongly affect the propagation of long period Pacific swell. Data from 7 directional waverider buoys, 17 bottom pressure recorders, and 12 pressure-velocity sensors, were examined and compared to predictions made by a high resolution spectral-refraction model. Analysis reveals large spatial variation in wave heights over the area especially in the vicinity of the canyon heads, where wave heights vary by as much as an order of magnitude over a few hundred meters. This extreme variation in wave conditions across the canyons is surprisingly well described by refraction theory with typical errors of nearshore wave height predictions of about 20 percent. / Lieutenant, Royal Australian Navy