SHOCK PRESSURES CAUSED BY WAVES BREAKING AGAINST COASTAL STRUCTURES

Shock pressures of high intensity and short duration may occur during breaking of the waves on coastal structures, slamming of ships, landing of seaplanes, and water entry of naval projectiles with flat nose. The phenomenon of shock pressures resulting from the impact between a solid and a liquid can better be described as a water hammer phenomenon wherein elasticity of the solid and compressibility of the liquid are the governing factors. The water hammer theory predicts the extreme values of shock pressures since it neglects the effect of air that might be entrapped between the solid and the liquid at moment of impact. Analytical formulations of shock pressures as a water hammer phenomenon and as the compression of a thin layer of air entrapped between the solid and the liquid at moment of impact are presented herein. Tests were conducted by dropping a steel, aluminum, or plastic plate whose edge was hinged at the water surface into a steel tank that was partially filled with water. Shock pressures were measured at two locations by means of strain gauge and piezoelectric type pressure cells mounted in the plate with special adaptors. The ratio between recorded and theoretical pressures when treated statistically was found to fit the Poisson distribution well. Correlation between recorded pressures and shape of the surface of contact between the solid and the liquid at moment of impact indicated that although shock pressures have a great intensity, they have a short duration and occur only at some spots on the surface of the solid. Therefore (a) they should not be applied as static pressures for checking stability of the coastal structure as a whole, (b) they may be absorbed by flexible structures, (c) they may cause cracks in rigid structures such as steel caissons filled with rock, and (d) they may affect the stability of structures that have natural frequencies within the range of duration of shock pressures. (Author)

• Corporate Authors:

  U.S. Army Waterways Experiment Station

  3909 Halls Ferry Road
  Vicksburg, MS  United States  39180-6199
• Authors:
  • Kamel, A M
• Publication Date: 1968-9

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 89 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Coast and river protective works; Force; Impact; Pressure; Slamming; Waves
• Old TRIS Terms: Impact pressure; Wave forces on structures
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Terminals and Facilities; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00054189
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Maritime Research Center, Galveston
• Report/Paper Numbers: H-68-2
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 7 1974 12:00AM