Wave loading
Encyclopedia
Wave loading is most commonly the application of a pulsed or wavelike load
to a material or object. This is most commonly used in the analysis of piping, ships, or building structures which experience wind, water, or seismic disturbances
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Structural load
Structural loads or actions are forces, deformations or accelerations applied to a structure or its components.Loads cause stresses, deformations and displacements in structures. Assessment of their effects is carried out by the methods of structural analysis...
to a material or object. This is most commonly used in the analysis of piping, ships, or building structures which experience wind, water, or seismic disturbances
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
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Examples of wave loading
- Offshore storms and pipes: As large waves pass over shallowly buried pipes, water pressure increases above it. As the trough approaches, pressure over the pipe drops and this sudden and repeated variation in pressure can break pipes. The difference in pressure for a wave with wave height of about 10 m would be equivalent to one atmosphere (101.3 kPa or 14.7 psi) pressure variation between crest and trough and repeated fluctuations over pipes in relatively shallow environments could set up resonance vibrations within pipes or structures and cause problems.
- Engineering oil platforms: The effects of wave-loading are a serious issue for engineers designing oil platformOil platformAn oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
s, which must contend with the effects of wave loading, and have devised a number of algorithms to do so.