Hydrodynamic Forces on Floating Bodies

13.42 Lecture Notes; c A.H. Techet

1. Forces on Large Structures
For discussion in this section we will be considering bodies that are quite large compared to the
wave amplitude and thus the inertial component of force dominates over the viscous forces. Typically
we can neglect the viscous force when it is less that 10% of the total force, except near sharp edges
and separation points. We must be careful to consider wave diraction when the wavelength is less
that 5 cylinder diameters.
If we assume that the viscous eects can be neglected and we consider the case of irrotational
ow, then we can write the velocity eld in terms of the potential function, (x, y, z, t).
(1.1) V (x, y, z, t) = =
_

x
,

y
,

z
_
The governing equation of motion is given by the Laplace equation
(1.2)
2
=

2

x
2
+

2

y
2
+

2

z
2
= 0.
Given a body in the presence of the wave eld we much consider the relevant boundary conditions
on the free surface, the seaoor and the body. Boundary conditions are, on the bottom,
(1.3) n =

n
= 0,
and, on the body,
1
2
(1.4) n =

n
= V
B
n = V
Bn
.
At the free surface the kinematic and dynamic boundary conditions must be satised. The linearized
free surface boundary conditions are both taken about z = 0 as we are accustomed to, given that
a/ << 1,
(1.5)

2

t
2
+ g

z
= 0
(1.6) =
1
g

t
.
In the case of a free oating body we must also take into consideration the wave eld generated by
the body motion alone. At some distance far away from the body, the potential function must take
into consideration the waves radiating from the body.
1.1. The Total Wave Potential and Its Components. Due to the nature of potential ow
and linear waves it is possible to sum multiple potential functions to obtain the total potential
representative of the complete ow eld. Each component of the total potential must also satisfy the
appropriate boundary conditions. For linear waves incident on a oating body the total potential is a
sum of the undisturbed incident waved potential,
I
(x, y, z, t), the diraction potential,
D
(x, y, z, t),
due to the presence of the body when it is motionless, and the radiation potential,
R
(x, y, z, t),
representing the waves generated (radiating outwards) by a moving body. For a permanently xed
body the radiation potential is non-existent.
(1.7) (x, y, z, t) =
I
(x, y, z, t) +
D
(x, y, z, t) +
R
(x, y, z, t)
3
Figure 1. Boundary conditions for the total potential must be met at three places:
sea oor (3), free surface (2), structure surface (4). The continuity equation must
be satised within the uid (1).
It is good here to note the important conditions on each component of the total potential. The
incident potential is formulated from that of a free wave without consideration for the presence of
the body. Therefore
I
(x, y, z, t) satises only the free surface boundary conditions and the bottom
boundary condition, in addition to the Laplace equation.
The diraction potential,
D
(x, y, z, t), must also satisfy the Laplace equation, the free surface
and the bottom boundary conditions. In order to compensate for the disturbance of the incident
wave around the body by the an additional condition at the body boundary such that the normal
gradient of the diraction potential is equal but opposite in sign to the normal gradient of the
incident potential:
(1.8)

D
n
=

I
n
.
4
The radiation potential satises the same conditions as the incident potential as well as an ad-
ditional condition on the moving body boundary in the absence of incoming waves. On the body
boundary the normal gradient of the velocity potential must equal the normal velocity of the body.
(1.9)

R
n
= V
B
n.
1.2. Complex form of the Wave Potential. It is often easiest, for the purpose of systems
analysis, to write the wave potential in its complex form:
(1.10) (x, y, z, t) = Re
__
a

I
+ a

D
_
e
it
+
R
_
,
where a is the wave amplitude and is the incoming wave frequency. The complex incident potential
is
I
= a

I
e
it
. The amplitude of the incident potential is the wave amplitude times

I
, which is
a function of depth and position in space. The diraction potential takes the same form in order to
satisfy the body boundary condition.
The radiation potential is not necessarily directly related to the wave amplitude. Since
R
results
from the motion of a oating body in the absence of waves, we must consider the body motion in all
six degrees-of-freedom. The vessel motions are prescribed by, x
j
, where j = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (surge,
sway, heave, roll, pitch, and yaw). It is customary to write the complex radiation potential in the
following form:
(1.11)
R
=
6

j=1
x
j

j
where x
j
is the velocity of the body in the j
th
direction and
j
is the velocity potential due to a unit
motion in the j
th
direction.
5
1.2.1. Incident Potential Boundary Conditions. The incident potential,
I
(x, y, z, t), is considered
without knowledge of the presence of any structure. The boundary conditions must be sucient to
arrive at the correct potential far from the structure.
(1)
2

I
= 0; Continuity equation.
(2)

2
I
t
2
+ g
I
z
= 0; Combined free surface condition.
(3)
I
z
= 0; Bottom boundary condition.
(4) Incident potential does not have any knowledge of body in the ow.
Rewriting the incident potential in its complex form,
I
= Re
_
a

I
e
i t
_
, we can simplify the
boundary conditions even further:
(1)
2

I
= 0;
(2)
2

I
+ g

I
z
= 0;
(3)

I
z
= 0;
(4) Incident potential does not have any knowledge of body in the ow.
1.2.2. Diraction Potential Boundary Condtions. The diraction potential,
D
(x, y, z, t), results
from the presence of the structure in the ow eld. Without the structure, there would be no wave
diraction. This potential accounts for the alteration of the incident wave train by the structure
and we must now include a boundary condition on the body (condition 4).
(1)
2

D
= 0; Continuity equation.
(2)

2
D
t
2
+ g
D
z
= 0; Combined free surface condition.
(3)
D
z
= 0; Bottom boundary condition.
(4)
D
n
=
I
n
; Body boundary condition.
Rewriting the diraction potential in its complex form,
D
= Re
_
a

D
e
i t
_
, we can simplify the
boundary conditions like we did for the incident potential:
(1)
2

D
= 0;
(2)
2

D
+ g

D
z
= 0;
6
(3)

D
z
= 0;
(4)

D
n
=

I
n
; Body boundary condition.
1.2.3. Radiation Potential Boundary Conditions. The radiation potential,
R
(x, y, z, t), is a result
of a freely moving structure oating in a quiescent (still) uid and radiates outwards from the body.
This potential does not come into play for a xed structure, only for a oating body, though the
body can be anchored or tethered.
(1)
2

R
= 0; Continuity equation.
(2)

2
R
t
2
+ g
R
z
= 0; Combined free surface condition.
(3)
R
z
= 0; Bottom boundary condition.
(4)
R
n
=
R
n =

VB
n; Body boundary condition.
In heave motion alone, for example, the body velocity is simply
(1.12)

VB
= x
3

k =
x
3
t
and the body boundary condition (4) becomes
(1.13)

VB
n = n x
3

k = n
z
x
3
t
.
Rewriting the radiation potential in its complex form,
R
= Re
_
a

R
e
i t
_
, we can simplify the
boundary conditions:
(1)
2

R
= 0;
(2)
2

R
+ g

R
z
= 0;
(3)

R
z
= 0;
(4)

R
n
= i n
z
; Unit motion condition in heave.
7
1.2.4. Total Potential Formulation. The total wave potential boundary conditions for unidirec-
tional waves traveling in the positive x-direction are a combination of the above cases. For a
two-dimensional potential and a body in heave-only motion:
(x, z, t) =
I
(x, z, t) +
D
(x, z, t) +
R
(x, z, t)
= Re
_
a
_

I
(x, z) +

D
(x, z)
_
e
it
+ x
3

R
(x, z) e
it
_
.
For any depth,
(1.14)

I
(x, z) =
i
k
cosh(k[z + H])
sinh(kH)
e
ikx
,
and for deep water
(1.15)

I
(x, z) =
i
k
e
kz
e
ikx
.
The basic boundary conditions hold for the total potential:
(1)
2
= 0; Continuity equation.
(2)

2

t
2
+ g

z
= 0; Combined free surface condition.
(3)

z
= 0; Bottom boundary condition.
The body boundary condition for the total potential (in heave motion) is
(1.16)

n
= n = n
z
dx
3
dt
which can be rewritten in its complex form
(1.17) Re
_
ae
it
_

I
+

D
_
n + x
3
e
it

R
n
_
= Re
_
in
z
x
3
e
it
_
.
8
In order for equation (1.17) to hold true it the following must hold true:
n
_

I
+

D
_
= 0 (1.18)

R
n = n
z
i (1.19)
where

I
,

D
, and

R
are independent of wave amplitude, a, and heave amplitude, x
3
.
1.3. Body in Heave Motion: Forcing and Equation of Motion. The force on the body in
an incident unidirectional wave eld can be found from the linearized pressure in the uid. The
pressure is found using the unsteady form of bernoullis equation:
(1.20) p(t) +

t
+
1
2
||
2
+ gz = C(t)
in order to use this with our linearized wave equations we must linearize the pressure. Ignoring the
hydrostatic term and the second order terms the unsteady pressure eects due to the waves is the
dynamic pressure. Since C(t) is arbitrary, we set it to zero. The force can now be determined as
follows
(1.21) F
z
(t) =
_ _
S
p(t) n ds =
_ _
S

t
n
z
ds
Expanded in terms of the incident, diraction, and radiation potentials we have an expression for
the total force in the vertical (heave) direction:
(1.22) F
z
(t) = Re
__ _
S
i e
it
n
z
_
a
_

I
+

D
_
+ x
3

R
_
ds
_
,
where x
3
(t) = x
3
e
it
is the heave motion. Each component of the total potential causes a force on
the body. Given a general form of force F(t) = Re{

Fe
it
}, where

F is the amplitude of the forcing
9
function. The total force, F(t), is written as
(1.23) F(t) = Re
_
a
_

F
I
+

F
D
_
e
it
+ x
3

F
R
e
it
_
+ F
hydrostatic
,
where the hydrostatic force in heave is F
h
= C
33
x
3
(t). The force amplitudes for the incident,
diraction, and radiation forces are

F
I
= i
_ _
s
n
z

I
dS, (1.24)

F
D
= i
_ _
s
n
z

D
dS, (1.25)

F
R
= i
_ _
s
n
z

R
dS. (1.26)
The amplitude of the radiation force comes from the case of the body heaving in a still uid (no
waves) using from Newtons second law. The radiation force amplitude is simply the sum of the
added mass and damping components in heave
(1.27)

F
R
=
2
A
33
iB
33
where A
33
and B
33
are the added mass and damping coecients in the heave direction due to heave
motion.
For the complete problem of a body heaving in an incident wave eld, we must consider the total
force on the body. By Newtons law we can write an equation of motion by equating the inertial
force, the body mass times the heave acceleration, to the total force due to the total wave potential:
m x
3
= F(t).
(1.28)
2
m x
3
e
it
= Re
_
a
_

F
I
+

F
D
_
e
it
+ x
3

F
R
e
it
+ F
h
_
10
simplifying this expression we get
(1.29)
_

2
(m + A
33
) + iB
33
+ C
33
_
x
3
= a
_

F
I
+

F
D
_
Using the above equation of motion we can now nd the amplitude of heave motion in terms of
wave amplitude, inertial and diraction forces, system natural frequency, system mass, added mass,
damping and hydrostatic coecients.
(1.30)
x
3
a
=

F
I
+

F
D

2
(m + A
33
) + iB
33
+ C
33
where A
33
, B
33
, and C
33
, are the added mass, damping and hydrostatic coecients in heave found
using strip theory, a(

F
I
+

F
D
) is the excitation force amplitude, a

F
I
is the Froude-Krylov force
amplitude, and a

F
D
is the diraction force amplitude. All of these depend on the frequency, ,
however the Froude-Krylov force amplitude, diraction force amplitude, added mass, damping, and
hydrostatic coecients are independent of heave and wave amplitude.