Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
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INTERNATIONAL NAVIGATION
ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE
DE NAVIGATION
2003
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PIANC has Technical Commissions concerned with inland waterways and ports (InCom), coastal and ocean
waterways (including ports and harbours) (MarCom), environmental aspects (EnviCom) and sport and pleasure
navigation (RecCom).
This Report has been produced by an international Working Group convened by the Maritime Navigation
Commission (MarCom). Members of the Working Group represent several countries and are acknowledged
experts in their profession.
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The objective of this report is to provide information and recommendations on good practice. Conformity is not
obligatory and engineering judgement should be used in its application, especially in special circumstances.
This report should be seen as an expert guidance and state of the art on this particular subject. PIANC disclaims
all responsibility in case this report should be presented as an official standard.
CONTENT
4.3
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6. Conclusion
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
References
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
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TECHNICAL EXPERT
1. INTRODUCTION
2. INTERNATIONAL
EXPERIENCE WITH
HIGH-SPEED VESSEL WAKE
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1.1 SUMMARY
The intent of this report is to provide an overview of the
hydrodynamic and physical aspects of high-speed vessel
wake and to provide guidance for its effective management. This guidance does not prescribe a solution. Rather,
it provides a process that waterway management authorities and vessel operators can use to develop an appropriate
solution for managing high-speed vessel wake. This guidance is consistent with the International Maritime
Organizations (IMO) High-Speed Craft Code (2000)
and may be used to support the development of the route
operational manual required by Regulation 18.2.2 of that
Code.
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Real or perceived safety and environmental impacts associated with high-speed vessel wake in confined waters
have been reported in many locations including Canada
(Sandwell, 2000), Denmark (Kofoed-Hansen, 1996;
Danish Maritime Authority, 1997; Kirkegaard et al., 1998;
Kofoed-Hansen and Mikkelsen, 1997), Great Britain
(Marine Accident Investigation Branch, 2000), Ireland
(Maritime and Coastguard Agency, 1998), Sweden (Strom
and Ziegler, 1998; Allenstrm et al., 2003), The
Netherlands (Anonymous, 2000), New Zealand (Croad
and Parnell, 2002; Kirk and Single, 2000; Parnell, 1996;
Single and Kirk, 1999), Finland and Estonia (Peltoniemi et
al., 2002), and the United States (Anonymous, 1999;
Stumbo et al., 1999). To date, much of the research undertaken on high-speed vessel wake wash has appeared only
as unpublished reports for various authorities and management agencies.
1.2 METHOD OF
UNDERTAKING THE TASK
1.3 DEFINITION
OF HIGH-SPEED VESSEL
For the purpose of this report, the term high-speed vessel includes vessels that meet the definition of a highspeed craft in the IMO High-Speed Craft Code (a vessel
capable of a maximum speed equal to or exceeding
3.7 0.1667(m/s), where (m3) is the displacement of the
vessel at the design waterline), or a definition adopted by
a national maritime authority.
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3. WAVE GENERATION AND
VESSEL WAKE
Fnl =
V
,
gL
where V (m/s) is the vessel speed, g (m/s2) is the acceleration of gravity, and L (m) is the vessel waterline length.
3.1 INTRODUCTION
The Kelvin wave pattern is strictly correct only for a moving point source. The wash of a vessel will be the superposition of a number of these patterns from many sources,
of which the bow and stern wave system will generally be
dominant.
V
,
gh
where: V (m/s) is the vessel speed, g (m/s2) is the acceleration of gravity, and h (m) is the water depth. The classical Kelvin wave pattern will be generated at depth Froude
numbers under 0.57. The length of the transverse waves,
which are the longest waves in the pattern, will increase as
the depth Froude number becomes larger.
As the depth Froude number approaches 1.0, the vessels
speed becomes equal to the maximum wave propagation
speed in the given depth of water. This speed is often
referred to as the critical speed. At this stage, all transverse
waves are left behind the vessel and a wave builds perpendicular to the vessel as shown in Figure 3-3. If the vessel
stays at critical speed, this wave will extend further from
the vessels track and build in height. All diverging waves
are found behind this critical wave. The conventional
Kelvin wave pattern is often referred to as sub-critical.
Where the water depth starts to change the wave pattern
significantly (Fnh > 0.85), the range is often referred to as
the near-critical speed range.
Figure 3-5 Typical wave trace of a large high-speed vessel at super-critical depth
Froude number with wash zones indicated
Figure 3-6 a) illustrates the deep-water propagation of
waves generated by a point source moving from A to B at
speed V. Waves generated at A would have travelled as
far as the outer circle if they had propagated at the individual wave phase speed (celerity). The fastest and
longest waves would have moved along the track to B
while shorter and slower waves would have travelled to
locations such as C and D. However, in deep water the
wave energy travels at only one-half the phase speed. As a
result, the locus of wave energy, and therefore the largest
wave, moves only as far as the inner circle, to points such
as B, C, and D. In the meantime, the point source has
generated new waves along its way to B. The energy from
these waves propagates outward in progressively smaller
inner circles. The resulting limit of wave propagation for
all waves generated as the ship moves from A to B is tangent to the inner circle forming the Kelvin wedge. For any
value of V, this forms an apex angle of sin-1 (1/3) =
19.5.
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a)
b)
Figure 3-6 a) Wave rays for sub-critical operation b) Wave rays for super-critical operation at Fnh = 1.3
The visible wave pattern then lies mainly inside and along
the wedge. As individual waves propagate outward at
their phase speed and attempt to outrace the wedge, they
die out and disappear. The largest waves, therefore, form
along the wedge and wave amplitudes diminish within a
short distance outside the wedge (Lighthill, 1978;
Newman, 1977).
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wave direction []
Figure 3-8 Divergence of second wave compared to first with varying depth
Froude number and perpendicular distance from vessel normalised by water depth
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Wave-current interaction - the alteration of wave celerity and height due to currents
Breaking - energy dissipation due to increased wave
steepness
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Theoretically any type of vessel will produce such a displacement wave. However, in particular large vessels in
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This theory, which is often referred to as slender body theory, assumes the vessel hull(s) to be slender compared to
their length. Most theories represent the body of the vessel as a series of Kelvin sources along the centreline of the
hull assuming a linear free surface condition. As such the
theory is limited to linear wave theory and in particular
small waves compared to the wavelength. The theory
behind these programs originates from work carried out by
Lord Kelvin, Havelock (1908), Mitchell (1898) and
Eggers et al. (1967). The strength of each of the sources
is derived from the local slope of the hull at a number of
water lines. The locations where the local slope is determined are often referred to as panels. The underlying
equations are multiple integrals and are solved directly by
numerical integration. The code can compute only steady
state (constant speed) conditions and shallow water problems. Some programs include the input of reflective
boundaries to simulate tank walls and, thus, allow the
results to be compared with narrow tank experiments.
Trim and sinkage is usually user defined. More recent
codes derive the sinkage and trim by means of calculating
the forces on the hull from the surrounding surface elevation through iteration. Difficulties occur with transom
sterns, as basic thin vessel theory cannot deal with flow
separation. Adjustments to the code like artificial appendices (virtual stern) or the use of potential flow methods
have helped to improve the predictions significantly. Very
high length Froude numbers seem to produce numerical
instabilities with certain codes or the accuracy decreases.
Thin ship theory still is heavily used and produces good
results for many vessel wash problems. There is no limitation to the distance from the vessel at which a wave elevation can be computed. However, some programs can
only derive entire wave fields and the computation is
restricted to constant water depth. Other effects like surface tension, wave breaking, and seabed shear stress are
usually neglected. In particular, due to numerical damping
and other numerical inaccuracies, the error can become
too large in the far field to be acceptable.
Predicting the impact of the wake for a certain vessel operating on a given route requires, in most cases, the solution
of an unsteady problem in a three-dimensional domain.
This is, in most cases, not feasible with one particular
numerical model. Hence, the numerical prediction of the
wake problem is divided into two different problems:
Prediction of the wave field near the vessel.
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3.7.1.2 Prediction of wave transformation and propagation in the far field and coastal zone
Once the generated waves are no longer influenced by the
vessel, other coastal engineering tools can be used to compute the wash propagation over a variable bathymetry. To
date only a few successful approaches have been published:
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Chen and Sharma (1995) investigated the wave generation of a slender vessel in a shallow channel at near critical speed using a combination of thin-ship theory and
simplified Boussinesq equations. In particular the periodic generation of solitary waves was presented, which
required the use of a non-steady model. The methods
produced good results for a shallow channel with variable cross section. Jiang (2000) combined the thin-ship
approximation with an enhanced Boussinesq method
with improved results, and Jiang et al. (2002) expanded
the model for a moving ship, accelerating or decelerating, in an arbitrary bottom topography, although with
simplified Boussinesq equations.
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Raven (2000) suggested a number of analytical techniques for calculating wave propagation in the far field,
where effects from banks or bottom topography can be
neglected. He also demonstrated the successful coupling of a steady state panel code with a space domain
Boussinesq-type model. A similar approach is discussed in Kofoed-Hansen et al. (2000). The principle
behind the Boussinesq-type models is to eliminate the
vertical dimension in the flow description without losing important effects like the influence of the vertical
acceleration on the wave propagation. The non-uniform distribution of the velocity profile is responsible
for the frequency dispersion. The idea is to couple the
two types of models in order to utilise the computational cost effectiveness of the two-dimensional Boussinesq
model where it is possible, and to apply the detailed,
but time-consuming Navier-Stokes (or Euler/CFD)
based free surface model only in areas where the flow
field is three-dimensional.
To calculate the essential boundary conditions for the
Boussinesq model, the full three-dimensional velocity
field and the free surface elevation is required. The free
surface elevation is not generally sufficient as pointed out
by Kofoed-Hansen et al. (2000).
The great advantage of using a Boussinesq-type model is
the possibility of simulating the wash sequence including
both Bernoulli and Kelvin wake. The tool has proven to
be very powerful. However, it still has its restrictions and
requires further development.
Table 3-1 Single point measurement techniques for ship wave measurements
Type:
Requirements:
Constrains:
Reference: (examples)
Wave staff
Water elevation
Capacitance
Mounting pole,
logger
Shallow water
only
Optical
Accessibility,
solid structure
Very labour
intensive
Distance from
above surface
Laser,
Ultra-sound,
Radar
Solid structure
for transducer
Location
Subsurface
Water elevation /
water depth
Echo sound
Watertight
device
Subsurface
Water pressure
Piezo transducer
Watertight
device
Aqua
Doppler
Particle velocity
Acoustic Doppler
Wave
riding Buoy
Acceleration
Accelerometer
Floating buoy
with adequate
size/weight
Technique:
Reference:
Stereo photogrammetry
Inui (1962).
LIDAR
Bolt (2001)
RADAR
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4. IMPACTS ASSOCIATED
WITH VESSEL WAKE
4.1 OVERVIEW
The objective of this section is to highlight some of the
potential safety and environmental impacts associated
with wake from high-speed vessels. Many of these impacts
are based on reported incidents that have been attributed to
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4.2.2.1 Overview
Just as the characteristics of the wake generated by a vessel is related to its physical characteristics (e.g., length,
beam, draft, displacement), how another vessel will be
impacted by wake is related to its own physical characteristics (Bolt, 2002). How a vessel responds to wake also
depends on how it is operated when wake is encountered
and is therefore related to the knowledge and skill of the
vessels operator. Consequently the specific risk to each
vessel must be assessed individually. This is true regardless of the type of vessel that generated the wake.
However, there are several general observations that can
be made about wake generated by high-speed vessels or
other vessels operating at or near critical speeds (MCA,
2001):
Wake characteristics in combination with shoreline features and waterway topography can be used to identify
potential impacts to the safety of people on or near the
shoreline. In general, impacts involving people on or near
the shoreline are primarily associated with transverse
Table 4-1 Impacts related to the safety of people based on shoreline characteristics
(Kofoed-Hansen, 1996; MCA, 1998)
Shoreline Characteristics
Potential Risk
Probable Cause
Moderate / steep
beaches, boat ramps
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Maximum heave motions are expected for bigger vessels when the super-critical wash is encountered as
beam waves.
Table 4-2 Impacts related to the safety of vessels (Kofoed-Hansen, 1996; MCA, 1998)
Waterway Topography
Potential Impact
Probable Cause
Open water
Harbour or estuary
entrances with
shallow bars
Potential Impact
Probable Cause
Moored vessels
Excessive movement
(surge, heave and roll) may
cause moorings to fail, damage
to vessels as well as docks and
piers, vessels to touch bottom
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4.3 ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT OF WAKE
4.3.1 Overview
In general, an increase in wave action, whether from natural causes (e.g., storm events) or vessel wake will result
in higher energy within the coastal system. This increase
can result in an adjustment to the beach environment
including beach orientation, erosion, accretion, and
increasing the envelope of dynamic change in the attainment of a new equilibrium to the wave conditions. One
factor influencing the vulnerability of a shoreline to being
changed by waves is its morphological state. In general,
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Probable Cause
Sediment Transport
Sediment resuspension
and associated increase
in turbidity
Large, steep waves similar to storm generated waves can move sediment
seaward; if they attack the beach at an angle, the material will be transported
along the shore. Short, steep waves may transport material onto higher
sections of the beach. Depending on the angle of attack, wake wash
encountering the shore can result in either cross-shore or long-shore transport
of sand and other shoreline material. Large, steep waves, similar to those
generated by storm waves, can move material seaward and form a bar
in front of the beach. If the waves attack the beach at an angle,
the material will be moved along the beach. Short, steep waves can move
material higher up on the beach. High-speed vessel wake wash has been
observed to result in both accretion and erosion.
The impact of the incoming wave and the resulting fluctuations in cracks
can separate layers of rock from the bedrock. Laboratory measurements suggest
that regular waves, e.g., vessel wake wash, generate higher crack pressures
than mixed waves, e.g., wind generated waves, of similar magnitude.
Hence the weathering of rocky shores by the leading waves of the wake
from high-speed vessels may be larger than the weathering induced
by comparable natural seas.
Probable Cause
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5.1 INTRODUCTION
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Operational measures can be used to reduce both the safety and environmental impacts of wake. Because the potential impacts of wake are related to the physical characteristics of both the vessel and the waterway, operational
measures are generally related to the route or the vessels
operational profile. Insofar as ferry routes are a function
of geography, it is usually not possible to reduce potential
impacts by selecting an alternate route. However, there are
some changes that might be possible, including
Moving a route farther from shore to increase the distance between the vessels track and the area where
wake impacts are of concern.
Establishing route segments so that changes in water
depth do not cause the vessel to transition from subcritical or super-critical speeds into the critical speed
range.
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Insofar as the wake generated by a vessel is directly related to its hull form, vessel design is a primary means of
managing wake. Although it is possible to modify a vessel after it is constructed (e.g., increasing its length or
installing trim tabs or interceptors) to improve the characteristics of the wake that is generated, the cost of doing so
may be prohibitive. Similarly, modifications may be prohibited by regulatory requirements or physical constraints.
Therefore, naval architects should understand the potential
implications of the wake generated by a given hull design
for wake management and consider any wash criteria
related to the intended route including design requirements, along with emissions, speed, and other limiting factors. There are, however, key features of high-speed vessel wake that cannot be reduced or removed by optimising
the hull form and design ratios. An example is the wave
period, which generally increases with vessel speed and
distance from the navigation line and is a particularly
important parameter in wave impact in shallow water
areas.
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Posting signs on shore or including notices on navigation charts in areas where high-speed vessel wake
might reasonably be encountered.
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Coordinating with other operators and harbour authorities or owners to identify impacts and means of mitigation.
5.3.1 Overview
Developing appropriate management measures for highspeed vessel wake requires identifying the potential safety
and environmental impacts the wash may have. This
requires ensuring that the interrelationship of wake generation, transformation, and impact is understood. Since the
impacts that may occur are the result of a number of factors, including wake generation and transformation, the
physical characteristics of the waterway and its shoreline,
as well as how the waterway and shoreline are used, this
interrelationship is route dependent. The route assessment
is an objective, systematic process for identifying potential
impacts and for developing management measures that
may be implemented by vessel operators and waterway
managers that are appropriate for a particular route.
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Figure 5-1 Operational zones for route characterization based on wash regimes
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Identifying potential wake impacts requires first ascertaining who, (e.g., swimmers or people near the shore), or
what, (e.g., small-craft underway or moored in marinas,
near-shore or coastal marine habitats, or waterfront structures) may be impacted. It also requires determining the
locations where wake impacts can reasonably be expected
to occur. The description of where an impact may occur
should include some reference to the shoreline (e.g., offshore, near-shore, on-shore), as well as a geographic reference (e.g., the name of a location or other landmark).
Although latitude and longitude may be useful for providing more precise locations, the use of common names provides a means to quickly identify areas where wake may
have an adverse impact.
Identifying potential wake impacts requires understanding
of how the waterway is used as well as information about
When identifying potential impacts, it is helpful to establish when a particular impact may occur. Determining
when an impact might occur is needed for determining the
frequency that high-speed vessel wake might cause a
potential impact. It also might help to highlight possible
causal relationships that have to exist for an impact to
occur (e.g., state of the tide or sustained winds from a
given direction). Several different timeframes can be used
when identifying when an impact might occur. Whereas
some potential impacts might occur multiple times a day,
others might occur infrequently, for example, those that
are related to seasonal weather patterns. Establishing the
timeframe might also help highlight impacts that are not
exclusively related to wake from high-speed vessels.
Description
Very Likely
Likely
Quite Possible
Possible
Examples
Every passage
Most passages
High tide during passage
During storms or other periodic
environmental conditions
Only during unusual /
unpredictable circumstances
Unlikely
Description
Very High
4
3
High
Moderate
2
1
Slight
Minimal
Examples
Unacceptable impact, people may receive
serious injuries or die, small craft cannot
navigate safely, waterfront structures cannot
be occupied / used, marine environment
disrupted
Noticeable impact, people may be injured,
moored vessels or waterfront structures may
be damaged, marine environment likely
to be damaged
No noticeable impact, use of shoreline /
waterway not interrupted, any damage
to marine environment is minimal
To develop appropriate management measures it is necessary to determine both the component of wake (i.e., wave
height, wave length, energy, and the magnitude of the
high-speed vessels wake) in terms of characteristic wave
height/energy, wave period/length and wave direction that
might be expected to cause each of the potential impacts
that are identified. In some instances there may be more
than one component that might be of concern. Failure to
identify the component, or components, of wake that reasonably can be expected to cause a potential impact can
result in developing management measures that are not
appropriate.
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5.3.3.5 Priority
Since it may not be reasonable to develop mitigation measures for every potential impact, it is necessary to establish
a prioritised list of those that are identified. An initial prioritised list can be established based on an index number
(In) calculated using the following equation:
In =
Ls x Cs
CFs
5.3.4.1 Overview
Description
Recommended Action
Minimal
No mitigation required
6 10
Acceptable
11 - 15
Moderate
16 - 20
Significant
Vessel should not operate on route until risk has been reduced.
21 -25
Unacceptable
Vessel should not operate on route until risk has been reduced.
If it is not possible to reduce risk even with unlimited resources,
the vessel should be prohibited from operating on the route.
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5.3.5 Monitoring
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Many areas where high-speed vessels have been introduced have had conventional commercial vessel traffic for
some time, and the environment is likely to have been
modified by wakes from those vessels as well as by
numerous other human activities and natural processes. In
most cases the wakes of conventional vessels generally
cause few complaints, presumably due to familiarity over
time. For such locations the wake from conventional commercial vessels may be used as a reference for establishing
a standard for high-speed vessel wake.
After acceptable standards or criteria have been established, the next step is to identify an appropriate suite of
management measures. It is likely that this suite will
include both operational and non-operational measures.
Since the measures that may be employed to comply with
the established standards and criteria are linked directly to
the vessel and its operation, vessel operators should have
the primary responsibility for identifying specific management measures. However, it is expected that the management measures will be subject to review by the agency
responsible for waterways management.
6. CONCLUSION
28
Allenstrm et al., 2003. The interaction of large and highspeed vessels with the environment in archipelagos - Final
report. SSPA Research Report No 122, Gteborg,
Sweden.
Anonymous, 1999. Speed restriction fails to halt
Washington State Ferries. Fast Ferry International,
38(8):22-25.
Anonymous, 2000. Early problems for Dutch service.
Fast Ferry International, 39(1):47.
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REFERENCES
Croad, R. and Parnell, 2002. Proposed Controls on shipping activity in the Marlborough Sound - A review under
s32 of the Resource Management Act. Report to the
Marlborough District Council, September 2002. Available
at http://www.marlborough.govt.nz/documents.html
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Cain, C., 2000. Wake Wash - An Operators Viewpoint Passage Plans & Risk Assessment, Hydrodynamics of
High Speed Craft Wake Wash & Motions Control. The
Royal Institution of Naval Architects, London, pp. 1-16.
Cambridge
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ANNEX A
TERMS OF REFERENCE
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coordinate study with IMO working groups on problems in relations to high-speed ferries;
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