Simulating Complex Passing Ship Hydrodynamic Phenomena

Large ships moving in narrow waterways can generate complex hydrodynamic phenomena and extreme forces and moments on berthed vessels, and damage shoreline structures and marine habitat. Complex phenomena such as bow solitary waves, broken supercritical bore waves, and ship-induced harbor seiche often affect berthed vessels unannounced and long before or after the passing ships that generated them are nearby, making them particularly hazardous for safe mooring. Particular focus is paid in the present paper to simulation and validation of the Vessel Hydrodynamics Longwave Unsteady (VH-LU) modeling system (Fenical et al. 2006) for these complex hydrodynamic phenomena including bow soliton generation and propagation, supercritical pressure field bore formation and propagation, sloshing and resonance of pressure field waves in complex harbors, and formation of multiple high-frequency breaking waves within pressure field systems. The paper also includes recent field data collection, AIS data utilization, hydrodynamic model validation, and prediction of harbor deepening effects on the formation of surges from deep-draft vessels.