Wave Forces on Submerged Bodies

In the design of submerged oil storage vessels where the structure generally has limited net negative buoyancy, the wave forces are of considerable importance in the design. This paper deals with the interaction of a train of regular surface waves with a large submerged oil storage tank resting on the ocean floor, in water of finite depth. Linear wave theory is used to describe the incident wave and viscous effects are neglected on the basis that the size of the submerged object is large compared to the height of the incident wave. The problem is formulated in the form of a potential flow problem and to solve this problem, point wave sources are distributed over the immersed surface. The strengths of these sources are then adjusted to satisfy the no-flow condition at the surface of the object. Results from a computer program based on these theoretical concepts are compared with experimental results from wave channel testing.