This paper concerns the formation of large-focused or near-focused waves in both unidirectional and directional sea-states. When the crests of wave components of varying frequency superimpose at one point in space and time, a large, transient, focused wave can occur. These events are believed to be representative of the largest waves arising in a random sea and, as such, are of importance to the design of marine structures. The details of how such waves form also offer an explanation for the formation of the so-called freak or rogue waves in deep water. The physical mechanisms that govern the evolution of focused waves have been investigated by applying both the fully nonlinear wave model of Bateman et al . (Bateman et al . 2001 J. Comput. Phys . 174 , 277–305) and the Zakharov's evolution equation (Zakharov 1968 J. Appl. Mech. Tech. Phys . 9 , 190–194). Aspects of these two wave models are complementary, and their combined use allows the full nonlinearity to be considered and, at the same time, provides insights into the dominant physical processes. In unidirectional seas, it has been shown that the local evolution of the wave spectrum leads to larger maximum crest elevations. In contrast, in directional seas, the maximum crest elevation is well predicted by a second-order theory based on the underlying spectrum, but the shape of the largest wave is not. The differences between the evolution of large waves in unidirectional and directional sea-states have been investigated by analysing the results of Bateman et al . (2001) using a number of spectral analysis techniques. It has been shown that during the formation of a focused wave event, there are significant and rapid changes to the underlying wave spectrum. These changes alter both the amplitude of the wave components and their dispersive properties. Importantly, in unidirectional sea-states, the bandwidth of the spectrum typically increases; whereas, in directional sea-states it decreases. The changes to the wave spectra have been investigated using Zakharov's equation (1968). This has shown that the third-order resonant effects dominate changes to both the amplitude of the wave components and the dispersive properties of the wave group. While this is the case in both unidirectional and directional sea-states, the consequences are very different. By examining these consequences, directional sea-states in which large wave events that are higher and steeper than second-order theory would predict have been identified. This has implications for the types of sea-states in which rogue waves are most likely to occur.

The objective of this research, part of the EU FP5 REBASDO Program, is to examine the effects of second order wave diffraction in wave run-up around the bow of a vessel (FPSO) in random seas. In this work, the nonlinear wave scattering problem is solved by employing a quadratic boundary element method. A computer program, DIFFRACT, has been developed and recently extended to deal with unidirectional and directional bichromatic input wave systems, calculating second order wave diffraction loads and free surface elevation under regular waves and focused wave groups. The second order wave interaction with a vessel in a unidirectional focused wave group is presented in this paper. Comparison of numerical results and experimental measurements conducted at Imperial College shows excellent agreement. The second order free surface components at the bow of the ship are very significant, and cannot be neglected if one requires accurate prediction of the wave-structure interaction; otherwise a major underestimation of the wave impact on the structure could occur.

No abstract

This paper provides a detailed analysis of electric field sensing using a slab-coupled optical fiber sensor (SCOS). This analysis explains that the best material for the slab waveguide is an inorganic material because of the low RF permittivity combined with the high electro-optic coefficient. The paper also describes the fabrication and testing of a SCOS using an AJL chromophore in amorphous polycarbonate. The high uniform polymer slab waveguide is fabricated using a hot embossing process to create a slab with a thickness of 50 μm. The fabricated polymer SCOS was characterized to have a resonance slope of ΔP/Δλ=6.83E5 W/m and a resonance shift of Δλ/E=1.47E-16 m(2)/V.

An electro-optic sensor capable of detecting electric fields with a high degree of sensitivity and linearity is fabricated using optical D-fiber. The slab coupled optical sensor utilizes weak coupling and long evanescent interaction with a lithium niobate waveguide. Transmission dips from mode resonances have a linewidth of 0.12 nm and a Q factor of approximately 13,000. These sharp resonances improve device sensitivity and are achieved due to the unique fabrication process possible with D-shaped fibers. The sensor deviates <0.1% from linearity while monitoring fields between 200 V/m and 20 kV/m and promises high sensitivity to fields well beyond that range.

Long-term estimation of extreme wave height remains a key challenge because of the short duration of available wave data, and also because of the possible impact of climate variability on ocean waves. Here, we analyse storm-based statistics to obtain estimates of extreme wave height at locations in the northeast Atlantic and North Sea using the NORA10 wave hindcast (1958–2011), and use a 5 year sliding window to examine temporal variability. The decadal variability is correlated to the North Atlantic oscillation and other atmospheric modes, using a six-term predictor model incorporating the climate indices and their Hilbert transforms. This allows reconstruction of the historic extreme climate back to 1661, using a combination of known and proxy climate indices. Significant decadal variability primarily driven by the North Atlantic oscillation is observed, and this should be considered for the long-term survivability of offshore structures and marine renewable energy devices. The analysis on wave climate reconstruction reveals that the variation of the mean, 99th percentile and extreme wave climates over decadal time scales for locations close to the dominant storm tracks in the open North Atlantic are comparable, whereas the wave climates for the rest of the locations including the North Sea are rather different.

This paper concerns the calculation of the probability of exceedance of wave crest elevation. The statistics have been calculated for broadbanded, unidirectional, deep-water sea states by incorporating a fully nonlinear wave model into a spectral response surface method. This is a novel approach to the calculation of statistics and, as all of the calculations are performed in the probability domain, avoids the need for long time-domain simulations. Furthermore, in contrast to theoretical distributions, the broadbanded, fully nonlinear nature of the sea state can be considered. The results have been compared with those of fully nonlinear time-domain simulations and are shown to be in good agreement. The results indicate that in unidirectional seas the crest elevations of the largest waves can be much higher than would be predicted by linear or second-order theory. Hence, the occurrence of locally long crested sea states offers a possible explanation for the formation of freak or rogue waves.

No abstract