Systematically Varied Rogue Wave Sequences for the Experimental Investigation of Extreme Structure Behavior

For an improved design of ships and offshore structures with regard to their behavior under severe weather conditions, wave height and steepness as well as the shape of the wave profile have to be considered. In this paper, the extreme New Year Wave as documented in numerous publications is varied with respect to wave height and period. These varied wave sequences are realized and measured in a model tank and applied to the investigation of motions and bending moments of an FPSO ship. The results are compared to the responses in the original wave train. An investigation of the riskiness of extreme wave sequences in comparison with existing rules concludes the paper.