MEAN-DRIFT FORCES ON ARRAYS OF AXISYMMETRICAL STRUCTURES IN A WAVE TANK

An approximate method is presented for calculating drift forces on arrays of vertically axisymmetric bodies in a wave tank. It is assumed that the wave scattering properties of an isolated element and of the array in the open sea are known. The procedure described allows the open-sea results to be post-processed to give good estimates of drift forces when a structural array is placed in a wave tank. For the particular case of an array of vertical circular cylinders extending throughout the depth, the method is compared with accurate results from the full linear problem for scattering by the array both when the array is in the tank and when it is in the open sea. The results show how the mean forces on the array when in the tank may differ considerably from those experienced in the open sea.