Ocean Engineering 264 (2022) 112404

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Ocean Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/oceaneng

Review

Review of wave interaction with continuous flexible floating structures

Min Zhang, Sebastian Schreier ∗
Delft University of Technology, Delft, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Thin continuous flexible floating structures have been shown to have technical and economic advantages for
Very large floating structures Offshore Floating Photovoltaic (OFPV) installations. In terms of large horizontal dimensions compared to the
Ice-related structures wave length, these structures are similar to sea ice as well as Very Large Floating Structures (VLFS), e.g. as
Hydroelastic methods
proposed for floating airports. In this paper, we reviewed the hydroelastic theory for sea ice and VLFS and
Characteristic length
assessed its applicability to the newly envisaged flexible floating structures. While VLFS and sea ice motion
Very flexible floating structures
Föppl–von Kármán plate theory
in waves are dominated by elastic deformations, their motion amplitudes are limited to the order of the
structure thickness. Thin and flexible floating structures were found to be able to follow the wave motion
with amplitudes far exceeding their thickness. Nonlinear theories like Föppl–von Kármán plate theory are
required to model these structures. The significant contribution of nonlinear effects in the structural response
and the large deformations in waves far exceeding the structural thickness lead to the definition of the new
category of Very Flexible Floating Structures (VFFS).

1. Introduction panels and are able to withstand strong wind, wave, and current loads
in open seas. Additionally, proper mooring systems are needed to keep
The environmental issues, such as global warming, sea-level ris- the system in place. Moreover, the efficiency and economic potentials
ing and climate change, caused by the burning of fossil fuels have in synergies of offshore solar and offshore wind as well as aquacultures
become more and more serious since industrial revolution. There is indicated that OFPV plants are better constructed in combination with
an urgent need to develop sustainable and clean energy for powering other marine systems (López et al., 2020; Zheng et al., 2020).
the low carbon future of the planet. Among the available renewable The challenges for the development of floating technology for OFPV
resources, solar energy is the most abundant inexhaustible energy to are the determination of (1) structural deformations under harsh wave
humankind. Besides, photovoltaic (PV) technology has experienced conditions, (2) the acting wave forces on the structures in the regime of
enormous growth and PV system has achieved world-wide acceptance strong hydroelastic interaction, and (3) the surrounding wave responses
over the past few decades. Land shortage is another problem of many due to the existence of the structures.
coastal cities as nearly 40 percent of the world’s population live within OFPV is an emerging field of research and development in recent
100 km of the coast (UN, 2017). Considering the fact that over two
years, see e.g. Jamalludin et al. (2019), and many different structural
third of the earth’s surface is covered by ocean, ocean space utilization
concepts are proposed as support structures. Based on inland float-
could be a good solution to release the land-use pressure. Combining
ing solar systems, which are primarily pontoon-based (Trapani and
with the development of solar energy, a promising option to tackle
Santafé, 2015; Sahu et al., 2016), modular floating designs are extended
both the land and energy problem is to develop offshore floating
to offshore applications, such as the projects of Oceans of Energy
photovoltaics (OFPV). The idea of OFPV is to install PV systems on
(2019) and the tank tests of connected triangular pontoons of Waals
seawater and not occupy land space.
et al. (2018) and Otto et al. (2020). However, modular structures
OFPV technology is generally a combination of PV technology and
the floating technology. Even though flexible OFPV has been pro- cause limitation on the size of plant and cannot withstand extreme
posed as cost-competitive concept and has recently been developed environmental conditions as there will be large stress concentrations
in nearshore, there is still a long way to go for commercial floating on the connection elements (Oliveira-Pinto and Stokkermans, 2020).
technology that can take kilometer size structures into rough offshore Alternatively, a flexible floating system consisting of thin-film PV arrays
environments. The floating technology for OFPV requires that the was designed by Trapani et al. (2013) with focus on large-scale offshore
structures have enough buoyancy to float themselves as well as the PV solar development. Trapani’s concept was based on a thin floating

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Schreier).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2022.112404
Received 4 August 2021; Received in revised form 19 August 2022; Accepted 22 August 2022
Available online 15 September 2022
0029-8018/© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
M. Zhang and S. Schreier Ocean Engineering 264 (2022) 112404

Fig. 1. Concept sketch of VLFS, sea ice, and VFFS.

polymer layer with length and width of 600 m × 200 m. Compared 2. Analytical consideration of the hydro-elastic response
to the pontoon-based type, the flexible approach is more commercially
attractive due to the inherent flexibility allowing the system to easily Compared to other marine structures, VLFS and sea ice have two
deform with wave motions, leading to low wave forces acting on distinct hydrodynamic features. One feature is that the structures have
the structure and the moorings. This economic advantage of flexible large horizontal dimensions of several kilometers and rather small
floating support was also mentioned in the project of Ocean Sun (2018), vertical size of only a few meters, thus resulting in very small bending
where pre-stretched membranes of several millimeters thin are used for rigidity in vertical direction. The other one is that the wavelengths
mounting rigid PV panels. More recently, Solar@Sea I & II test showed of practical interest are small compared to the structure length. These
the potential of floating, non-rigid thin-film PV modules for large- two features make the elastic behavior more important than rigid body
scale PV installations (Soppe, 2020). The continuous flexible system is motion (Suzuki et al., 2006).
suitable for utility-scale structures of square kilometer in size—either
2.1. Analytical models
as a single structure or in a combination of modules.
Considering flexible support for OFPV, Schreier and Jacobi (2020)
Due to their large horizontal dimensions and a small vertical one,
conducted experiments with a very flexible floating sheet subjected to
VLFS and sea ice are often regarded as mat-like structure resting on
regular waves. They found that their flexible sheet mainly followed the
water surface and modeled as a thin elastic plate with zero thickness.
local wave elevation and the vertical deflections were large compared
The hydro-elastic problem is usually simplified to be a linear prob-
to the structure thickness, which was different from the motion of VLFS lem by assuming both the incident wave amplitude and the structure
and sea-ice where deflections were mostly in the same order of the displacement are small. The classic thin plate theory (also known as
thickness. Kirchhoff plate theory) is thus being used to describe the vibration of
Structures with square kilometer in horizontal size have been stud- the floating body. The governing equation is given as
ied before for floating runway Mega-Float (Suzuki, 2005) and in sea-ice
𝜕2 𝑊
research. The newly proposed structures have much smaller thickness 𝐷∇4 𝑊 + 𝑚 + 𝜌𝑔𝑊 = 𝑃 (1)
𝜕𝑡2
to horizontal dimensions ratio, leading to low bending stiffness in the
𝜕 𝜕
vertical direction, and thus making the structure very flexible under where ∇ is the vector differential operator defined as ∇ = ( 𝜕𝑥 , 𝜕𝑦
);
𝐸𝐼
wave actions. Fig. 1 illustrates the concept of VLFS, sea ice, and VFFS. 𝐷= is the plate rigidity with 𝐸 Young’s modulus, 𝐼 cross-sectional
1−𝜈 2
With very large horizontal dimensions compared to their structural area moment of inertia per unit width and 𝜈 Poisson’s ratio; 𝑚 is the
thickness, there are parallels between flexible floating structures for mass per unit area of the plate; 𝜌 is the density of the fluid; 𝑔 is the
OFPV support and pontoon-type VLFS (Wang and Tay, 2011) as well gravitational acceleration; 𝑃 = 𝑃 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑡) is the dynamic pressure on
as sea-ice (Squire, 2008). According to Suzuki et al. (2006), elastic the bottom surface of the plate. The pressure 𝑃 relates to the velocity
deformation are the governing response of those structures in waves. potential 𝛷 = 𝛷(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) at the bottom surface of the plate by
There are currently not many investigations available regarding 𝜕𝛷
𝑃 = −𝜌 (2)
very flexible support systems for OFPV. Therefore, based on the similar- 𝜕𝑡
ities between flexible OFPV structures and VLFS and sea-ice, numerical and 𝑊 = 𝑊 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑡) is the complex vertical displacement of the plate
and experimental studies were reviewed in this paper to assess the satisfying the boundary condition at the bottom surface of the plate by
applicability of employed theories as well as experimental and nu-
merical techniques to these newly proposed structures. The analytical 𝜕𝑊 𝜕𝛷
= (3)
consideration of the hydro-elastic problem is described in Section 2. 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑧
The review of previous works is presented in Section 3. Section 4 For simplicity, considering an elastic floating body with zero-draft
analyses the previous work and gives a characterization of the investi- subjected to linear regular wave, and assuming all motions are time-
gated structures. The applicability of the available theory is discussed harmonic with the common time dependence 𝑒𝑖𝜔𝑡 applied to all first or-
in Section 5, and concluding remarks are given in Section 6. der oscillatory quantities, the velocity potential becomes 𝛷 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) =

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M. Zhang and S. Schreier Ocean Engineering 264 (2022) 112404

{ }
ℜ 𝜙 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) 𝑒𝑖𝜔𝑡 , and the first order vertical displacement of the plate
{ }
becomes 𝑊 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑡) = ℜ 𝑤 (𝑥, 𝑦) 𝑒𝑖𝜔𝑡 , where ℜ represents the real
value; 𝑖 is the imaginary unit; 𝜔 the angular frequency; and 𝑡 the time.
Substituting Eqs. (2) and (3) into Eq. (1), and factoring all quantities
by 𝜌𝑔, the governing equation then becomes
( )
𝑚𝜔2 𝐷 4 𝜕𝜙 𝜔2
1− + ∇ = 𝜙 (4)
𝜌𝑔 𝜌𝑔 𝜕𝑧 𝑔
This equation can be seen as a modified free surface boundary condition
with consideration of floating plate properties that are different from
water waves. When 𝑚 = 0 and 𝐷 = 0, it becomes the free surface Fig. 2. Schematic of wave focusing (green) and spreading (red). (For interpretation of
condition of open water wave. the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version
of this article.)

2.2. Hydro-elastic dispersion relation

From the modified free surface condition, i.e. Eq. (4), the dispersion proposed by Suzuki and Yoshida (1996) and the equation was given in
relation of elastic waves of a thin plate can be expressed as (Ohmatsu, Eq. (8) by Suzuki et al. (2006) based on beam results.
2005) ( )1∕4
[ ] 𝐸𝐼
4 𝜆𝑐 = 2𝜋 (8)
𝑚𝜔2 𝐷𝑘𝑏 𝜔2 𝜌𝑔
1− + 𝑘𝑏 tanh 𝑘𝑏 ℎ = (5)
𝜌𝑔 𝜌𝑔 𝑔 here 𝐸𝐼 is the bending stiffness of the beam per unit width. The
product 𝜌𝑔 is the hydro-static stiffness of structure per unit width. The
or an alternative form
[ ( )2 ( )4 ] 𝜆𝑐 is the characteristic length of the elastically supported beam and
𝜔 𝑘𝑏 𝜔2 can be interpreted as the length affected by a localized load. Suzuki
1− + 𝑘𝑏 tanh 𝑘𝑏 ℎ = (6)
𝜔0 𝑘𝑐 𝑔 et al. (1997) defines VLFS not only as floating structures with large
√ horizontal dimensions compared to wavelength of practical interest,
where ℎ is the water depth, 𝜔0 = 𝜌𝑔∕𝑚 is the heave natural frequency but also as having lengths larger than the characteristic length.
of the dry plate, 𝑘𝑏 represents the hydro-elastic wave number and For comparison purposes, plate and beam structures were charac-
𝑘𝑐 = (𝜌𝑔∕𝐷)1∕4 represents the characteristic wave number of the plate. terized by 𝜆𝑐 , where the plate bending stiffness is converted to 𝐸𝐼 =
If 𝑚 = 0 and 𝐷 = 0, Eq. (5) or Eq. (6) becomes the dispersion relation 𝐷(1 − 𝜈 2 ) and the characteristic length of a plate is expressed as 𝜆𝑐 =
of open water wave 2𝜋 (𝐷∕𝜌𝑔)1∕4 .
𝜔2
𝑘𝑤 tanh 𝑘𝑤 ℎ = (7)
𝑔 3. Review of VLFS and sea ice studies
In case of wave propagating to a floating plate with 𝑚 ≠ 0 and
𝐷 ≠ 0, the[ hydro-elastic wave number is theoretically determined by Floating technology has received significant attention among indus-
( )2 ( )4 ] try and research as VLFS have been foreseen as promising alternatives
𝜔 𝑘𝑏
term 𝐶 = 1 − 𝜔 + 𝑘 .
0 𝑐 to relieve the vigorously growing pressure on land use for population
( )2 ( )4
𝑘 accommodation and industrial expansion (Wang and Tay, 2011; Lamas-
When 𝐶 = 1, i.e. 𝜔𝜔 = 𝑘𝑏 , the hydro-elastic wave number 𝑘𝑏
0 𝑐 Pardo et al., 2015). However, although the concept of VLFS has been
is equal to the open water wave number 𝑘𝑤 : 𝑘𝑏 = 𝑘𝑤 . The hydro-elastic
introduced over 100 years ago and the floating technology has achieved
wavelength is the same as the propagating wavelength.
( )2 ( )4 great improvement since the 1990s, real VLFS are still yet to come due
𝑘
When 𝐶 < 1, i.e. 𝜔𝜔 > 𝑘𝑏 , the hydro-elastic wave num- to their distinct structure size and the complex interaction with waves.
0 𝑐
ber 𝑘𝑏 is larger than the open water wave number 𝑘𝑤 : 𝑘𝑏 > 𝑘𝑤 . To predict the hydro-elastic response of these structures in waves, many
The hydro-elastic wavelength is thus shortened by the elastic floating analytical or numerical, and experimental studies have been carried out
structure. ( )2 ( )4 over the past few decades. In this section, the common methods used to
𝑘
When 𝐶 > 1, i.e. 𝜔𝜔 < 𝑘𝑏 , the hydro-elastic wave number solve the wave–structure coupled equation (Eq. (1)) are firstly outlined,
0 𝑐
𝑘𝑏 is smaller than the open water wave number 𝑘𝑤 : 𝑘𝑏 < 𝑘𝑤 . The the numerical and experimental studies in VLFS and sea-ice are then
hydro-elastic wavelength is thus lengthened by the elastic floating reviewed.
structure.
As the wave energy should be continuous at the side of the struc- 3.1. Numerical studies
ture, the change in wavelength underneath the structure would result
in the direction of wave celerity changing accordingly, as shown in As shown in Eq. (1), the motion of the structure is governed by
Fig. 2. Physically speaking, when wave shortens, the outside wave a fourth-order partial differential equation, the analytical solutions of
would enter into the hydro-elastic zone which causes wave focusing, these equations are essentially impossible to achieve except in some
whereas wave lengthens, the wave would exit from the hydro-elastic one-dimensional cases. Alternatively, numerical studies are used and
zone which causes wave spreading. Note that wave shortening could developed along the evolution of floating technology. Over the decades,
cause unexpected large deformation of the structure due to wave energy different numerical approaches to the hydro-elastic problem have been
increases beneath. proposed and a variety of structures have been investigated.

2.3. Structural stiffness 3.1.1. Hydroelastic methods

Pioneering work of hydroelasticity theory was done by Bishop et al.
As shown in Eq. (6), 𝑘𝑐 is an important parameter to quantify the (1979) and Mei and Tuck (1980) for 2-dimensional model and Wu
effect of structural bending stiffness on hydro-elastic response. In this (1984) for 3-dimensional analysis. Early applications of hydroelas-
study, for the purpose of an intuitive comparison to the length scales, tic theory to large floating structures include Langen and Sigbjörns-
the characteristic length 𝜆𝑐 = 2𝜋∕𝑘𝑐 instead of 𝑘𝑐 is used. 𝜆𝑐 was firstly son (1980) and Georgiadis (1981) for ‘‘beam-like’’ structures as well

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M. Zhang and S. Schreier Ocean Engineering 264 (2022) 112404

as Price and Wu (1985) and Wu and Du (1990) for complex structures was more lucid and time-efficient in computation than the direct
of arbitrary geometry. method, but for large and flexible structures, massive numbers of modes
Regarding the nature of solution in the structure, a decision must be might be needed. Additionally, calculations of wave quantities was
made by choosing a method in one of two broad categories (Ohmatsu, not straightforward in modal expansion method. Moreover, the direct
2005). The first set of option is the modal expansion method. In method avoids the error induced by truncating the series expansion
this method, the structure motion and the hydrodynamics are solved of the modal expansion method. However, the direct method leads
separately. The structure motion is approximated by a summation of to much larger system of unknowns and for high frequency motions,
the product of modal functions and their complex amplitudes, while the the expression of Green’s function of the structure was badly condi-
hydrodynamic part can be obtained through Green’s integral method tioned, limiting the application of the approach to comparatively stiff
or eigenfunction expansion-matching method. The coupling is then structures, like ice floes. Hegarty and Squire (2008) further points
achieved by evaluating the hydrodynamic forces on the structure for out that the method based on Green’s function of the structure did
unit amplitude motions of each mode. The second family is the so- not converge to higher-order deflections. The pros and cons of the
called direct method, in which the velocity potential is directly ob- hydroelastic methods are summarized in Table 1
tained by solving the coupled equation of motion without the help of Across the modal expansion method and the direct method, the
modes and the structure motion is then estimated from the resultant hydro-elastic problem is addressed by boundary element method (BEM)
potential. finite element method (FEM), or the hybrid BEM-FEM. In general, BEM
Using modal expansion method to solve hydroelastic problem has a traditionally gained a degree of popularity on a basis of efficiency.
very long history, early full description of this method can be found in Because in BEM the partial differential equations are formulated as
the work of Bishop et al. (1979) and Wu (1984). Later, as VLFS received integral equations using Green’s function method and the given bound-
high interest among industry and academia, modal expansion method ary conditions of the problem are used to fit the boundary values into
was widely used in the hydrodynamic analysis of beam-like or pontoon- the integrals, rather than values throughout the space. Therefore, only
type VLFS due to its simplicity of determining motion vibration (Wu the surface, rather than the entire volume, needs to be discretized in
et al., 1995, 1996; Kashiwagi, 1997, 1998a; Hermans, 2000; Abul-Azm simulation, which leads to the reduction of spatial dimensions of the
and Gesraha, 2000; Meylan, 2002; Andrianov, 2005; Montiel, 2012; problem by one, and a smaller system of equations in the computation
Karmakar and Soares, 2012; Praveen et al., 2018, 2020). Along the program. Particularly, BEM is well-suited to problems with infinite or
development of this method, various types of modal functions have semi-infinite domain (see e.g. Hermans, 2000; Andrianov and Hermans,
been proposed, including modes of a finite free–free beam (Gran, 1992; 2006). Whereas in FEM, problem domain of interest is divided into
Newman, 1994; Maeda et al., 1995; Taylor and Ohkusu, 2000), finite collection of finite sub-domains (finite elements) and the concept is to
plate with free edges (Meylan and Squire, 1996; Meylan, 2002), infinite represent the geometry of each single sub-domain by applying proper
or semi-infinite beam and plate (Hermans, 2000; Andrianov, 2005), boundary conditions and loads. A variety of different finite element
and B-spline functions (Kashiwagi, 1997, 1998a). The modes may be formulations has been proposed over the years to modal problems of
of the dry type considering structure vibration in vacuum or wet type various complexity.
including the fluid effect on the modes shapes calculation (Taylor, However, due to volume discretization in FEM, the system of equa-
2003; Loukogeorgaki et al., 2012). Most researchers used the dry- tions could be considerably large due to the higher number of degrees
mode approach because these modes are easily specified in advance of freedom in the system. Besides, FEM can be very computationally
by applying the orthogonality properties. expensive as the stability of FEM is highly dependent on the mesh qual-
In the line of direct method, early procedures developed by ity, a very fine mesh is required for accurate prediction. By contrast,
Mamidipudi and Webster (1994) and Yago (1997) using Green’s func- there are far less elements in BEM because of surface discretization.
tion of the water surface to solve the wave components and the Although BEM gives full matrices whereas FEM leads to narrow brand
finite difference/element scheme to obtain the structure motion were ones, a full BEM matrix usually still solves faster than a sparse FEM
shown to be time and memory consuming for the calculation of wave matrix. One major limitation of BEM is its less successful application
interaction with a large floating structure. To avoid those disadvan- to nonlinear problems (Wu and Taylor, 2003), but higher-order BEM
tages, Ohkusu and Nanba (1996) introduced a different direct method (HOBEM) could be an option (Heo and Kashiwagi, 2019, 2020).
for pontoon-type VLFS based on the analytical approach of sea ice To make use of the advantages of BEM and FEM, a hybrid BEM-FEM
proposed by Evans and Davies (1968) and Meylan and Squire (1994). technique has been developed in which the BEM is used to discretize
The idea of this approach is to treat the floating structure as part of the fluid field and FEM is used to discretize the floating structure.
the water surface but with different physical properties, thus replacing Early BEM-FEM procedure applied in VLFS can refer to e.g. Utsunomiya
the structure mechanics problem of determining the elastic motion et al. (1995), Yasuzawa (1996), Yago (1997) and Hamamoto et al.
of the body due to wave actions by a boundary-value problem in (1997). Further improvement to higher-order BEM-FEM approach re-
hydrodynamics. The Green’s function of the floating cover is used specting computational efficiency and accuracy has been continuously
rather than that of the free water surface. To reduce the computation proposed in the field of hydroelasticity (e.g. Kashiwagi, 1998c; Wang
time of Green’s function integration over the wet surface of the struc- and Meylan, 2004; Yoon et al., 2014; Shirkol and Nasar, 2018, 2019) .
ture, Ertekin and Kim (1998) proposed an efficient expansion matching
approach based on the direct method by using eigenfunctions of the 3.1.2. Application of hydroelastic method
wave to estimate the velocity potential rather than integrating Green’s Modal expansion method has been used extensively over the past
function of the structure over the entire wet surface. They showed that decades. Wu et al. (1995) conducted a 2-dimensional analysis of an
their approach is efficient for parametric study of hydroelastic response experimental model of 10 m by 0.5 m by 0.038 m with 𝜆𝑐 = 2.92 m. The
of pontoon-type VLFS because the discretization of the structure was structure motion was estimated by the free–free beam modes proposed
needed only along its edges rather than on the entire pontoon in usual by Newman’s (Newman, 1994). The wave field was approximated by
panel methods, replacing the time-consuming evaluation of the area wave eigenfunctions. This solution is also called the eigenfunction
integral by efficient line integrals. Kim and Ertekin (2000) and Hong expansion-matching method (EEMM). Acceptable agreement of the cal-
et al. (2003) modified this approach by accounting for finite draft effect culated displacement and bending moment results with experimental
on the structure behavior. values was obtained. Then Wu et al. (1996) extended the application of
Comparison work of modal expansion method and the direct method the modal expansion method to 3-dimensional box-like pontoons with
was done by Taylor (2007). Results showed that the modal expan- dimensions of 300 m by 60 m by 2 m and 4000 m by 1250 m by 4.5 m.
sion method overestimated the effect of hydrodynamic forces but it The wave field was solved by using the water surface Green’s function.

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M. Zhang and S. Schreier Ocean Engineering 264 (2022) 112404

Table 1
Overview of pros and cons of hydroelastic methods.
Method Pros Cons
Modal expansion –lucid procedure –overestimates hydrodynamic forces
method –time and memory efficient –many modes needed for large
and very flexible structures
–prone to modes truncation error
Direct method –straightforward calculation –large number of unknowns
–no modes truncation error –badly conditioned Green’s
function in very flexible structures
–convergence problem in higher-
order deflections

Comparisons between 2-dimensional results and 3-dimensional results ice floes are omitted. The reader is referred to the latest overview
indicated that the 2-dimensional approach overestimated the global by Squire (2020) for multi-structure models of ice-related research.
response and for short wavelengths, where the 3-dimensional analysis For the direct method, the early application on hydroelastic anal-
was recommended. Kashiwagi (1997) applied the modal expansion ysis can be found in the problem of wave–ice coupling (Evans and
method with cubic B-spline functions on a floating elastic plate of Davies, 1968; Meylan and Squire, 1994). Meylan and Squire (1996)
5000 m long, 1000 m wide and 5 m thick with a characteristic length investigated the hydroelastic response of circular ice floes represented
of 782 m in the regime of very short wavelengths. Satisfactory results by circular disks to long-crested ocean waves using the direct method,
were obtained up to 𝐿∕𝜆 = 50, with feasible computation time and the in which Green’s function of the ice cover was adopted. Their models
number of unknowns for routine use. Ohmatsu (1997) investigated the had various radii from 50 m to 400 m and a constant thickness of 0.5 m
hydroelastic behavior of typical VLFS with various lengths ranging from with a characteristic length of 57.1 m. To improve the computational
1200 m to 4800 m subjected to rather short waves using EEMM. Chen efficiency of the direct method, Athanassoulis and Belibassakis (1999)
et al. (2003) used modal expansion method with Green’s integrals proposed a coupled-mode method to address the coupling equation by
to address the large-amplitude response problem of a pontoon-type introducing the series expansion of wave field into variational principle
VLFS treated as a floating plate of 300 m × 60 m × 2 m with 𝜆𝑐 = rather than using the integral approach. Belibassakis and Athanassoulis
188 m in monochromatic and multi-directional waves. Worth noting (2005) addresses the hydroelastic problem of large floating structures
that in this work, they provided a nonlinear hydroelastic solution over different bathymetry conditions using a coupled-mode model.
that accounted for geometric characteristics of the structure in short Studies on the hydroelastic response of a 500 m long floating ice
waves using Föppl–von Kármán plate theory. Detailed description of sheets with small draught and variable thicknesses in different slopping
the problem solution accounting for the geometric nonliterary can be bathymetry conditions were conducted in the work of Belibassakis and
found in Chen et al. (2004). The nonlinear membrane forces induced Athanassoulis (2005) and Belibassakis et al. (2013). In VLFS study,
by large deflections were calculated. Comparison between linear and based on the idea of treating the floating structure as part of the water
nonlinear results indicated that membrane forces had little effect on surface but with different physical characteristics, Ohkusu and Nanba
the motion response, but increased the longitudinal stress by 30% in (1996) extended the application of method proposed by Meylan and
the case of monochromatic waves. Watanabe et al. (2006) proposed a Squire (1994) to wave-VLFS study. Ertekin and Kim (1999) analyzed
benchmark analysis of circular VLFS using modal expansion method. the hydroelastic response of a 5000 m by 1000 m by 5 m floating
Radius of 50 m and 200 m with thickness 5 m and 2 m were consid- runway in regular, oblique, shallow water waves by the direct method.
ered in their work. Response of deflection, bending moment, twisting Effects of stiffness, structure length and width on structure deflections,
moment and transverse shear force were calculated. Gao et al. (2011) wave reflection and transmission were discussed. Ohkusu and Namba
addressed the hydroelastic problem of a hinged thick VLFS by applying (2004) studied the bending vibration of a large thin floating plate of
the modal expansion method to the structure and the boundary element 5000 m by 1000 m by 5 m with a characteristic length of 420 m in
to the fluid domain. Tay and Wang (2012) conducted a numerical monochromatic waves of 100 m to 250 m long using the direct method.
investigation of floating plates of 300 m by 60 m by 2 m and 150 m by However, Green’s function of the structure is badly conditioned for
150 m by 2 m with various fore- and aft-end shapes in regular waves higher-order deflections and high frequency motions limiting the ap-
using modal expansion method with boundary integrals. More recent, plication of the direct method to relatively stiff structures. For more
the application of the modal expansion method can be found in motion complicated cases of wave floating structures interaction, the most
prediction of various complicated floating structures proposed to meet popular solution is BEM-FEM, such as Yoon et al. (2014), Lu et al.
different engineering needs, such as modular VLFS (Yang et al., 2019; (2016), Shirkol and Nasar (2019), Luong et al. (2020), Nguyen et al.
Ding et al., 2020), VLFS with different support conditions (Praveen (2020) and Jiang et al. (2021).
et al., 2019), floating VLFS with submerged plates (Mohapatra and An overview table of VLFS numerical models is provided in Table 2.
Guedes Soares, 2016; Mohapatra and Soares, 2019), VLFS with anti- Because for large ice structure simulations, infinite or semi-infinite
motion device (Cheng et al., 2016; Singla et al., 2019; Pu and Lu, 2022), models were usually used and the thickness information was often not
circular flexible VLFS (Heo and Kashiwagi, 2020; Meylan, 2021). Wave given, it is difficult to generate the overview table of numerical ice
interaction with sea ice shares the same fundamental mathematical research in the same pattern of Table 2. Hence the table of numerical
model with wave-VLFS interaction (Squire, 2008). Modal expansion ice models is omitted.
method can be also applied to the hydroelastic analysis of wave–ice
coupling problem, such as Meylan (2002), in which the wave-induced 3.2. Experimental studies
motion of a flexible ice floe of rectangular, diamond, trapezoid and tri-
angular shape was calculated based on modes approximation method. In analytical or numerical prediction, assumptions made to make
But for wave propagation through ice floes, multiple ice floes should be the problem calculable may ignore some important physics, and the
considered. For hydroelasticity of multiple ice floes, the wave scattering predicted results may be different from the actual cases. It is therefore
between the ice floes should be included, modal expansion method crucial to conduct experiments of elastic floating structures to validate
may not be a good choice since it has a drawback of estimating wave the theoretical analysis and also investigate the structure behavior in
scattering. Here we keep our focus on continuous structures so multiple real conditions.

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M. Zhang and S. Schreier Ocean Engineering 264 (2022) 112404

Table 2
Models used in VLFS simulations.
𝐿 × 𝐵 × ℎ [m3 ] 𝜆𝑐 [m] 𝜆 [m] Reference
300 × 60 × 2 104 − 1846 55.4 − 343 Wu et al. (1996)
4000 × 1250 × 4.5 628 − 19 842 359 − 508 Wu et al. (1996)
1200 − 4800 × 1000 × 2 338 38.9 − 271 Ohmatsu (1997)
5000 × 1000 × 5 782 111 − 250 Kashiwagi (1997)
5000 × 1000 × 5 418 125 − 250 Ertekin and Kim (1999)
1200 × 240 × 1 288 60.0 − 216 Ertekin and Kim (1999)
5000 × 1000 × 5 418 250 − 1000 Hong et al. (2003)
300 × 60 × 2 188 50.0 Chen et al. (2003)
5000 × 1000 × 5 420 100 − 250 Ohkusu and Namba (2004)
R 50 × 5 287 50.0 Watanabe et al. (2006)
R 200 × 2 181 50.0 Watanabe et al. (2006)
300 × 60 × 2 188 60.0 − 300 Gao et al. (2011)
150 × 150 × 2 188 30.0 − 150 Tay and Wang (2012)
300 × 60 × 2 188 60 − 420 Yoon et al. (2014)
400 × 60 × 3.7 304 – Cheng et al. (2016)
300 × 60 × 2 188 120 − 420 Lu et al. (2016)
R 1 3.528 − 4.196 – Heo and Kashiwagi (2020)
R 2 (dimensionless) 0.628 − 3.533 2.09 Meylan (2021)

R: the radius of the structure.

Table 3 0.005 m to 0.020 m were applied. They concluded that the influence of
Law of similarity.
structural flexibility on the wave response of a large floating structure
Source: Adapted from Ohmatsu (2008).
was significant and the consideration of structural flexibility would
Geometrical condition 𝐿𝑚 = 𝛼𝐿𝑓
result in a more commercial design in a flexible floating structure. Yago
Mass per unit area 𝑀𝑚 = 𝛼𝑀𝑓
√ and Endo (1996) investigated a 9.75 m long, 1.95 m wide model with
Time condition 𝑇𝑚 = 𝛼𝑇𝑓
Vertical bending rigidity (𝜆𝑐 )𝑚 = 𝛼(𝜆𝑐 )𝑓
a thickness of 0.0545 m and a characteristic length of 6.15 m related
to a full-scale structure of 300 m by 60 m by 2 m with characteristic
𝛼: the geometric scale ratio; 𝑚: model scale; 𝑓 : full scale.
length 188 m. The longitudinal distributions of vertical displacement
amplitudes and bending moment amplitudes along the centerline were
reported for different wave periods and incident angles. Their model
3.2.1. Law of similarity was later used in the work of Ohmatsu (1997) and Hamamoto and
In practice, full-scale structure experiments on large floating struc- Fujita (2002) for the purpose of numerical solutions validation. In
tures are generally not possible, so model-scale structures are alterna- the study of Ohmatsu (1997), experiments of another longer elastic
tively used. Reasonable conversion from results of model-scale struc- model with length of 15 m, width of 3 m, thickness of 0.056 m and a
ture to results of full-scale structure can be achieved by satisfying characteristic length of 3.63 m were also documented. Kagemoto et al.
the similarity law. In linear regime, the motion of full structure and (1998) tested a 2 m long, 0.5 m wide, 0.005 m draft model consisting
experimental model should satisfy the equation of motion (Eq. (1)) of 100 buoyant rectangular solids attached to a flexible upper deck of
and the dispersion relation (Eq. (6)). For a floating structure with a 0.005 m acrylic glass. Maeda et al. (2000) investigated a model of 4 m
very large horizontal size and a rather small vertical one, elastic body long, 1 m wide with thickness of 0.03 m and characteristic length of
motion is dominant in the structure behavior (Suzuki et al., 2006). 1.31 m under long-crested irregular waves and two-directional irregular
Hence bending rigidity similarity between the model and the actual waves. The conditions of head sea, beam sea and oblique sea were
structure is necessary to be considered. Ohmatsu (2008) gives the list of used. Liu and Sakai (2002) carried out 2D experiments of polyethylene
similarity conditions related to the hydro-elastic response of VLFS based plates of 10 m long, 0.010 m and 0.020 m thick with characteristic
on the derivation results of Endo (1991). Among them, the parameters length of 1.68 m for the thinner model and 2.83 m for the thicker
of similarity in Table 3 are important in VLFS experiments. one subjected to regular, random and solitary waves. Shiraishi et al.
However, it is often very difficult to satisfy the similarity law (2003) experimentally analyzed the elastic response and mooring forces
of bending rigidity in VLFS. Because if only consider the geometric of a VLFS moored inside a coastal reef in a 3D wave basin. They
scaling, the rigidity per unit width in the model by definition is scaled used a model of 12 m long, 1.2 m wide and 0.04 m thick with a
by 𝛼 3 which does not match with the result derived from the equation of draft of 0.008 m and a characteristic length of 15.64 m to simulate
motion, where the rigidity should be scaled by 𝛼 4 . Therefore, different a full-scale structure of 1500 m by 150 m by 5 m with characteristic
materials and fabricating methods have to be used to simultaneously length 120 m. Li et al. (2003) conducted a model test with a model
satisfy the similarity condition of mass and bending rigidity between consisting of 0.045 m foamed polyethylene attached to a 0.005 m
model-scale structures and full-scale structures (Ohmatsu, 2008). aluminium plate. The model length, width, height and draft were
10 m, 1.0 m, 0.05 m and 0.02 m respectively with a characteristic
3.2.2. Experimental studies of VLFS length in the longitudinal direction of 3.10 m. Regular waves of wave
A significant milestone of VLFS development was the construction of height 0.02 m and six wave periods between 0.80 s and 2.53 s were
the Mega-Float from 1995 to 2001 with intended full-scale dimensions considered. Takagi and Nagayasu (2007) presented a small-scale model
of 5000 m × 1000 m and structural thickness of 5 m (Kashiwagi, 1997). with horizontal size of 1.2 m by 0.4 m and a thickness of 0.1 m
This development provided the possibility of onsite experiments of for the purpose of numerical method validation. Pham et al. (2009)
large floating models. During this time, several experiments related to documented an experimental study on various devices to reduce heave
the Mega-Float project were reported. Utsunomiya et al. (1995) carried motion of a VLFS model with length 2.44 m, width 0.5 m, height 0.06 m
out experiments of a model with length of 10 m, width of 0.5 m and and a characteristic length 2.33 m. Ohmatsu (2006) summarized the
various thicknesses of 0.019 m, 0.038 m and 0.076 m, corresponding necessity of conducting experimental studies and gave an overview
to characteristic lengths of 1.75 m, 2.94 m and 4.95 m, respectively, to of the experimental methods employing large-scale models in wave
investigate the effect of structural stiffness on structure deformations. basins. He concluded that experimental research is of great importance
Regular waves with periods of 0.6 s to 2.86 s and wave height from to the development of the floating technology. More recently, Yoon

6
M. Zhang and S. Schreier Ocean Engineering 264 (2022) 112404

Table 4
Models used in VLFS experiments.
𝐿 × 𝐵 × ℎ [m3 ] 𝜆𝑐 [m] 𝜆 [m] Reference
10.0 × 0.50 × 0.019, 0.038, 0.076 1.75, 2.94, 4.95 0.56 − 8.54 Utsunomiya et al. (1995)
9.75 × 1.95 × 0.0545 6.15 1.00 − 8.61 Yago and Endo (1996)
15.0 × 3.00 × 0.056 3.63 0.75 − 2.10 Ohmatsu (1997)
2.00 × 0.50 × 0.005 1.48 0.39 − 6.25 Kagemoto et al. (1998)
4.00 × 1.00 × 0.030 1.31 – Maeda et al. (2000)
10.0 × 0.80 × 0.01, 0.02 1.68, 2.83 0.39 − 6.25 Liu and Sakai (2002)
12.0 × 1.20 × 0.04 15.64 2.44 − 4.05 Shiraishi et al. (2003)
10.0 × 1.00 × 0.05 3.10 1.00 − 6.14 Li et al. (2003)
1.20 × 0.40 × 0.0001 0.09 0.072 − 0.146 Takagi and Nagayasu (2007)
2.44 × 0.50 × 0.06 2.33 1.00 − 2.64 Pham et al. (2009)
3 × 0.6 × 0.04 6.13 1.8 Yoon et al. (2014)
8 × 1.2 × 0.0736 1.68 – Cheng et al. (2016)
4.95 × 1.02 × 0.005 0.17 0.495 − 0.99 Schreier and Jacobi (2020)

et al. (2014) carried out laboratory experiments with a 3 m long, 0.6 m out in regular waves. Bennetts and Williams (2015) experimentally
wide, and 0.04 m thick VLFS with 𝜆𝑐 = 6.13 m subjected to regular investigated the wave transmission by an ice floe. The experimental
waves with a wavelength 1.8 m and four different angles. Cheng et al. tests were conducted in a 3D wave basin with size of 15.5 m by 10 m
(2016) investigated the hydroelastic response of an 8 m by 1.2 m by with 0.5 m water depth. Regular waves with wavelengths of 0.56 m,
0.0736 m VLFS model with 𝜆𝑐 = 6.09 m edged with dual inclined 1.00 m, and 1.51 m were applied. The ice floes were represented by
perforated anti-motion plates subjected to irregular waves according 1 m2 square thin elastic plates made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and
to a JONSWAP spectrum. Waals et al. (2018) described a conceptual polypropylene (PP). Different thicknesses were considered to obtain
test of a modular diamond-shaped floating mega island. The structure different elasticity of the model. Meylan et al. (2015) reported an
consisted of 7 larger triangular floaters with an edge length 1948 m experimental test of a thin plastic disc of 0.40 m diameter and 0.015 m
at the center surrounded by 80 smaller triangular floaters with edge thickness subjected to regular wave with wavelength of 0.5 to 5 m. The
length 0.948 m. All floaters had a draft of 0.0357 m. The structure was model was a rigid body made of a closed-cell expanded-foam PVC sheet
subjected to 3 different irregular wave conditions with significant wave with thin hard plastic coating, so only rigid body motions of the model
height 𝐻𝑠 ranging between 0.0149 m and 0.062 m and peak period was measured and presented. A regime change from a rapid increase
𝑇𝑝 between 0.52 s and 0.91 s to investigate the motion response and in surge amplitude with increasing wavelength, to a weak increase was
the wave-induced loads on the structure. They considered the structure displayed in their experimental results. Toffoli et al. (2015) demon-
at model scale and extrapolated the results to three different full-scale strated a laboratory experimental model of an incident ocean wave
dimensions. They concluded that loads on large full-scale structures are interacting with an ice floe to validate the theoretical models of wave
very high, leading to challenges for future applications of this mega attenuation in the ice-covered ocean. The model floe was represented
islands at sea. by a rectangular PP plastic plate with length of 1 m, width of 1.7 m
The focus of the aforementioned studies was on the motion response and thickness of 0.010 m. The model plate had manufacturer-specified
of the structures. Their results showed that VLFS deflection amplitudes Young’s modulus 𝐸 = 1.6 GPa which corresponds to a characteristic
were in the order of the structural thickness and the wave amplitude. length of 2.15 m. Three incident wavelengths: 𝜆 = 1.00 m, 1.26 m and
Recently, Schreier and Jacobi (2020) tested a closed-pore chloro- 1.56 m were used. Considering wave attenuation under ice floes, Sree
prene foam rubber sheet of 4.95 m long, 1.02 m wide, 0.005 m thick et al. (2017) conducted 2D experiments with viscoelastic sheets made
and 0.17 m characteristic length in regular waves with wavelength of oil-doped Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and PP in a 8 m long, 0.3 m
0.495 m and 0.99 m and up to 0.020 m amplitude. This structure wide and 1.0 m deep wave flume. The size of the PDMS model was 1 m
followed the local wave elevation and thus experienced deflections of by 0.3 m by 0.01 m with characteristic lengths ranging from 0.18 m
4 times its thickness. to 0.3 m at lab scale. Two model lengths of 1 m and 2.45 m with a
An overview of models used in VLFS experiments is provided in characteristic length of 2.61 m were considered in the PP model. Their
Table 4. experimental results displayed wave shortening under PDMS model for
longer waves and wave lengthening under a stiffer PP model. Later, the
3.2.3. Ice-related structures response of a longer and thicker PDMS model with length of 3 m and
In ice-related experiments, early work can be found in Squire (1984) thickness of 0.02 m was tested by Sree et al. (2018).
where experiments were carried out in an ice-covered wave flume of An overview table of models used in ice-related experiments is
2 m by 1 m by 0.6 m for the purpose of verification of theory. Meylan provided in Table 5.
(1993) conducted 2D experiments of floating flexible sheets in a wave
flume of 20 m long and 1.83 m wide to investigate the effect of 4. Characterization of the structures
the model on regular waves. The models covered the full width of
the flume with length of 1.22 m and thickness of 0.0032 m and Studies on elastic structure hydroelasticity have mainly addressed
0.00635 m corresponding to a characteristic length of 0.94 m and the wave-induced structure deformation and the influence of the struc-
1.57 m, respectively. Sakai and Hanai (2002) presented an experiment ture on the entire water wave field. In this section, the characterization
using polyethylene sheets with 0.005 m and 0.020 m thickness to of the structures is discussed in terms of structure response and wave
model the ice floe. Six different lengths from 0.25 m to 8 m were reaction which is represented by the hydro-elastic dispersion relation.
used. The characteristic length of 0.005 m thick model was 1.09 m and
the other was 2.88 m. Regular waves of periods 0.6 s to 1.6 s with 4.1. Structure response
intervals of 0.2 s were considered. The vertical displacement of the
sheets at several points along the centerline of the models were mea- Based on VLFS research, Suzuki et al. (2006) characterized the mo-
sured. Montiel et al. (2013) used compliant discs to represent ice floes. tion of floating structures by the ratios of structure length over charac-
Experiments of three kinds of discs with same radius of 0.72 m and teristic length 𝐿∕𝜆𝑐 and structure length over wavelength 𝐿∕𝜆𝑤 . When
different thicknesses of 0.003 m, 0.005 m, 0.010 m with corresponding the structure length is less than the characteristic length, i.e., 𝐿∕𝜆𝑐 <
characteristic lengths of 0.76 m, 0.98 m and 1.64 m were carried 1, motion response is dominated by rigid body motions. When the

7
M. Zhang and S. Schreier Ocean Engineering 264 (2022) 112404

Table 5
Models used in ice-related experiments.
𝐿 × 𝐵 × ℎ [m3 ] 𝜆𝑐 [m] 𝜆 [m] Reference
1.22 × 1.83 × 0.0032, 0.00635 0.94, 1.57 0.56 − 6.25 Meylan (1993)
8.00 × 0.80 × 0.005, 0.02 1.09, 2.88 0.56 − 4.00 Sakai and Hanai (2002)
R 0.72 × 0.003, 0.005, 0.01 0.76, 0.98, 1.64 0.90 − 4.30 Montiel et al. (2013)
1.00, 2.00, 3.00 × 1.00 ×0.005, 0.01, 0.02 0.95 − 3.61 0.56 − 1.51 Bennetts and Williams (2015)
R 0.40 × 0.015 – 0.50 − 5.00 Meylan et al. (2015)
1.00 × 1.70 × 0.01 2.15 1.00 − 1.56 Toffoli et al. (2015)
1.00 × 0.30 × 0.01 0.18 − 0.30 0.39 − 1.37 Sree et al. (2017)
1.00, 2.45 × 0.30 × 0.01 2.61 0.39 − 1.37 Sree et al. (2017)
3.00 × 0.30 × 0.01 0.18 − 0.30 0.39 − 1.37 Sree et al. (2018)

R: the radius of the structure.

Fig. 3. Overview of characteristics of floating model structures. Black triangles:

VLFS, Utsunomiya et al. (1995), Yago and Endo (1996), Ohmatsu (1997), Kagemoto Fig. 4. Mapping of global response of floating structures.
et al. (1998), Liu and Sakai (2002), Shiraishi et al. (2003), Takagi and Nagayasu (2007), Source: Adapted from Suzuki et al. (2006).
Pham et al. (2009), Wu et al. (1996), Kashiwagi (1997), Kim (1998), Ertekin and Kim
(1999), Hong et al. (2003), Chen et al. (2003), Ohkusu and Namba (2004), Watanabe
et al. (2006), Gao et al. (2011) and Tay and Wang (2012); blue diamonds: ice-related
structures, Meylan (1993), Sakai and Hanai (2002), Montiel et al. (2013), Bennetts wavelength ratios 𝐿∕𝜆𝑤 from 0.1 to 10. For almost all VLFS and most
and Williams (2015), Toffoli et al. (2015) and Sree et al. (2017, 2018), red circles: ice-related structures, the structure was longer than the wavelength,
more flexible structure, Schreier and Jacobi (2020). Solid and hollow points represent
such that elastic body response was dominant over rigid body motions.
the longest and shortest wavelengths used in each paper. (For interpretation of the
references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of
On the other hand, for a large group of ice-related structures, the
this article.) structure was shorter than the characteristic length and the response
of the simulated ice-floes could be expected to be well described by
rigid body motions. The ratio of wavelength to characteristic lengths
𝜆𝑤 ∕𝜆𝑐 of VLFS and sea-ice models were similar and ranged from 0.1
structure length exceeds the characteristic length, i.e. 𝐿∕𝜆𝑐 > 1, elastic
to 10. Note that 𝜆𝑤 ∕𝜆𝑐 < 1 for most models subjected to short waves,
deflections of the structure become more pronounced. The ratio of
i.e. on the right hand side of the figure. For these floating structures,
𝜆𝑤 ∕𝜆𝑐 determines the magnitude of the global response. When the
only small global response may be expected. The model in this figure
waves are longer than the characteristic length, i.e. 𝜆𝑤 ∕𝜆𝑐 > 1, the
used by Schreier and Jacobi (2020) had the largest ratio of 𝐿∕𝜆𝑐 = 29.12
global response becomes significant, otherwise the response is small
which was almost three times the largest 𝐿∕𝜆𝑐 in VLFS and sea-ice. This
due to the cancellation of local wave effects in the range of the
suggested a significant flexible response of the structure. Schreier and
characteristic length 𝜆𝑐 . Jacobi (2020) observed that their flexible model followed local wave
Following this approach, an overview of characteristics of the elastic elevation and reported a large motion amplitude for this structure of
models used in the literature mentioned in Section 3 is given in Fig. 3. four times the structural thickness.
In this figure, the ratio 𝐿∕𝜆𝑐 is plotted against the ratio 𝐿∕𝜆𝑤 , both Following the map of structural response regions by Suzuki et al.
on logarithmic scales. The higher the structure is on the vertical axis, (2006), Fig. 4 presents an updated map that indicates the difference in
the more flexible it is. On the other hand, the further a structure is on structure response of floating structures based on the overview data in
the right on the horizontal axis, the longer the structure is compared Fig. 3. As the more flexible structures of Schreier and Jacobi (2020)
to the waves. The three diagonal lines indicate from top to bottom the had significantly larger deflection compared to structural thickness
ratio of wavelength to structure characteristic length 𝜆𝑤 ∕𝜆𝑐 = 10; 1; 0.1. than traditional VLFS and ice-related structures, it is reasonable to
The black triangle symbols in the figure represent VLFS, while blue introduce the new category of Very Flexible Floating Structures (VFFS)
diamonds show sea-ice related structures. The solid and open symbols and separate these from VLFS and sea-ice.
indicate longest and shortest wavelength per study, respectively. The Regarding the characteristic length 𝜆𝑐 , Suzuki et al. (2006) illus-
two red circles show the characteristic of the structure used by Schreier trated the difference in behavior of a rigid body represented by a
and Jacobi (2020). conventional ships and an elastic one like a VLFS. They concluded that
From Fig. 3, we can see that VLFS were mostly investigated in the the applied load only had influence on the elastic deformation within
ranges of 1 < 𝐿∕𝜆𝑤 < 20 and 0.1 < 𝐿∕𝜆𝑐 < 10 with few exceptions of the region of 𝜆𝑐 . To account for the more flexible structure investigated
very short waves with 𝐿∕𝜆 up to 100. Ice-related structures share the by Schreier and Jacobi (2020), this figure by Suzuki et al. (2006) was
same range of 𝐿∕𝜆𝑐 with VLFS but were tested for smaller length to updated in Fig. 5.

8
M. Zhang and S. Schreier Ocean Engineering 264 (2022) 112404

Fig. 5. Global response under a static load.

Source: Adapted from Suzuki et al. (2006).

𝑘
resulting in rather small ( 𝑘𝑏 )4 , which also increase the possibility of
𝑐
wave shortening.

5. Discussion of applicable theory for VFFS analysis

As summarized in Section 4, VFFS have a large structure length to

characteristic length ratio, resulting in significant elastic body motions
in global response to external wave loads with large deflection ampli-
tudes compared to their structural thickness. However, no dedicated
VFFS theory exists, yet. Therefore, in this section, the applicability and
limitations of classical thin plate theory to VFFS is discussed.
Commonly, VLFS and sea-ice hydroelastic analysis is based on thin
(Kirchhoff) plate theory, as shown in Eq. (1).
It is worth noting that the thin plate theory gives good results
Fig. 6. Overview of wave response under elastic floating structures, black circles: for small rotations only (<10◦ ). In case of large-amplitude motion,
numerical results, Fox and Squire (1991), Meylan and Squire (1994), Utsunomiya et al. extended formulations accounting into geometric non-linearity must be
(1995), Wu et al. (1995), Meylan and Squire (1996), Wu et al. (1996, 1997), Kagemoto used (Irschik and Gerstmayr, 2009; Jang, 2013; Chen et al., 2003). In
et al. (1998), Kim et al. (2005), Tay and Wang (2012), Karperaki et al. (2015) and Lu
this regard, an extra nonlinear membrane force term induced by large
et al. (2016); green circles: experimental results, Utsunomiya et al. (1995), Ohmatsu
(1997), Hamamoto and Fujita (2002), Liu and Sakai (2002), Shiraishi et al. (2003), Li deflections is added in the equilibrium relation of the elastic model
et al. (2003) and Toffoli et al. (2015); red circles: experimental results of more flexible
( )
𝜕2 𝑊 𝜕2 𝑊 𝜕2 𝑊 𝜕2 𝑊
structure, Schreier and Jacobi (2020). Solid and hollow points represent the longest 𝐷∇4 𝑊 + 𝑚 + 𝜌𝑔𝑊 − 𝑁𝑥𝑥 + 𝑁𝑦𝑦 + 2𝑁𝑥𝑦 = 𝑃 (9)
and shortest wavelengths used in each paper. (For interpretation of the references to 𝜕𝑡2 𝜕𝑥2 𝜕𝑦2 𝜕𝑥𝜕𝑦
color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.) with 𝑁𝑥𝑥 , 𝑁𝑦𝑦 being the in-plane normal stresses in 𝑥 and y directions
respectively, and 𝑁𝑥𝑦 the in-plane torsional stress. More details of their
calculation can be found in Reddy (2006).
4.2. Hydroelastic dispersion relation This equation, which was firstly introduced by Föppl (1897) and
further modified by von Kármán (1907), can be seen as an exten-
Based on the analysis in Section 2, the hydro-elastic wave number is sion of classic plate theory to problems of large deflections involving
determined by the two dimensionless parameters: (𝜔∕𝜔0 )2 and (𝑘𝑏 ∕𝑘𝑐 )4 moderately large rotations (10◦ −15◦ ). The derivation follows the Kirch-
which relate to structural properties and incident wave conditions. hoff hypothesizes, which assume line elements perpendicular to the
( )1∕2 transverse normals remains straight after deformation and transverse
Rewriting the condition of wave shortening by 𝑘𝑏 < 𝑘𝑐 𝜔𝜔 and
0 normals are in-extensible (Reddy, 2006). Due to moderate rotation,
combining the relation 𝑘𝑏 > 𝑘𝑤 , wave shortening can be further
𝑘 𝑘 the effect of higher-order strains, mainly ( 𝜕𝑊 )2 , ( 𝜕𝑊 )2 and ( 𝜕𝑊 )( 𝜕𝑊 )
expressed as 1 < 𝑘 𝑏 < 𝑘 𝑐 ( 𝜔𝜔 )1∕2 . Similarly, wave lengthening as 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
𝑤 𝑤 0 which are neglected in thin plate theory, are no longer small enough
𝑘𝑐 𝜔 1∕2 𝑘𝑏
( )
𝑘𝑤 𝜔 0
< 𝑘𝑤
< 1. Fig. 6 illustrates wave response under floating to be neglected. Hence membrane forces play a role in the structure
𝑘 𝑘 behavior.
elastic structures in terms of 𝑘 𝑏 and 𝑘 𝑐 ( 𝜔𝜔 )1∕2 .
𝑤 𝑤 0
From Fig. 6, we can see that almost all conditions used in the open Chen et al. (2003) considered the effect of membrane forces on the
literature are in the range of 𝑘 ( 𝜔 )
𝑘𝑐 𝜔 1∕2 𝑘
< 𝑘 𝑏 < 1. This agrees with motion of a pontoon VLFS subjected to short waves using Föppl–von
𝑤 0 𝑤
the conclusion that VLFS often cause wave lengthening, as documented Kármán equations. They reported that the membrane forces increased
the longitudinal stresses by 30% and hence should be considered in the
by (e.g. Kashiwagi, 1998c,b; Ertekin and Kim, 1999). A few cases sit in
𝑘 𝑘 design procedure of such structures.
the range of 𝑘 𝑏 < 𝑘 𝑐 ( 𝜔𝜔 )1∕2 , like the experimental case of Utsunomiya
𝑤 𝑤 0 The key element of VFFS analysis is the large deflection of the
et al. (1995) (the upper right solid black and green points, the two structure compared to its thickness and horizontal dimensions. Schreier
models here are actually the same) and Schreier and Jacobi (2020) (the and Jacobi (2020) have shown that their VFFS model could follow the
upper right solid red circle), indicating that wave may be shortened by local wave elevation. Therefore, the structure deflection can be approx-
the floating structures. But as shown in Fig. 6 the hydro-elastic wave imated by the undisturbed wave elevation. Based on their conclusion,
number (𝑘𝑏 ) of these models is very close to the open water wave we express the plate motion by the time-harmonic model of free surface
number (𝑘𝑤 ), the wavelength change is too small to be detected. wave to easily calculate the value of the four terms in the left-hand side
Wave lengthening and shortening are also documented in ice- in Eq. (9) and quantify the effect of the membrane term on the hydro-
related studies, see (e.g. Wang and Shen, 2010; Li et al., 2015; Sree elastic response. Considering head incident wave, the wave elevation
et al., 2017, 2018). In the analysis of dispersion relation of ice struc- is thus given as
tures, viscous effect is often considered and a viscous term is admitted.
𝑊 (𝑥, 𝑡) = 𝜉𝑎 cos(𝑘𝑤 𝑥 − 𝜔𝑡) (10)
This viscous term can be regarded as an extra term added on ( 𝜔𝜔 )2 ,
0
thus increasing the possibility of wave shortening. where 𝜉𝑎 is the incident wave amplitude. Substituting Eq. (10) into
For a VFFS, the structure is thin and flexible, the characteristic Eq. (9), the four terms in the left-hand side in Eq. (9) of the VFFS
wave number of the structure could be very large compared to a VLFS, model can be obtained. Leaving out the time and space dependency,

9
M. Zhang and S. Schreier Ocean Engineering 264 (2022) 112404

Fig. 7. Normalized amplitudes of the left-hand side terms in Eq. (9) versus 𝜆𝑐 ∕𝜆𝑤 . (a) VFFS model (Schreier and Jacobi, 2020): structure displacement is assumed to be equal to
the wave elevation amplitude. (b) VLFS model (Yago and Endo, 1996): structure displacement is considered to linearly vary from 0.1 to 0.8 with 𝜆𝑤 ∕𝐿 = 0.1 − 1.0. Wave amplitude
𝜉𝑎 = 0.01 m is used in both models and wavelength change underneath is ignored.

the resulting amplitudes of the individual terms are 𝐷𝑘4𝑤 𝜉𝑎 , 𝑚𝜔2 𝜉𝑎 , 𝜌𝑔𝜉𝑎 theoretical breaking limit of steep waves is close to 𝑆 = 1∕7 = 0.143.
and √4𝐷 2 𝑘4𝑤 𝜉𝑎3 with 𝑇 the structure thickness. Normalizing those terms Therefore, it is desirable to extend the hydroelastic analysis of VFFS to
3𝑇
𝐷𝑘4𝑤 𝑚𝜔2 4
4 𝐷𝑘𝑤 𝜉𝑎
2 include the geometric nonlinearities of the structure and use Föppl–von
by hydrostatic stiffness term 𝜌𝑔𝜉𝑎 leads to , 𝜌𝑔 , and √ 2,
𝜌𝑔 3 𝜌𝑔 𝑇 Kármán plate theory.
which are all dimensionless.
Fig. 7 illustrates the non-dimensional amplitudes varying with 6. Conclusions
𝜆𝑐 ∕𝜆𝑤 of a VFFS model (Schreier and Jacobi, 2020) and a VLFS
model (Yago and Endo, 1996). In this figure, 𝜉𝑎 = 0.01 m and 𝜆𝑤 ∕𝐿 = Studies of continuous flexible floating structures were reviewed
0.1 − 1.0 is used. The results of a VLFS model (Yago and Endo, 1996) is with focus on the employed experimental and numerical models and
depicted for the purpose of comparison. Note that those values of VLFS methods. Based on the motion response characteristics as well as the
are also achieved using Eq. (10) by assuming that the VLFS displace- ratio of structure length to characteristic length, the new category of
ments vary linearly with 𝜆𝑤 ∕𝐿 based on the displacement results given Very Flexible Floating Structures (VFFS) was introduced. VFFS are en-
in literature. For instance, for small 𝜆𝑤 ∕𝐿 = 0.1, VLFS displacement visaged as floating support structures for Offshore Floating Photovoltaic
is 0.1 times the incident wave amplitude, while for large 𝜆𝑤 ∕𝐿 = 1.0, (OFPV) installations. For the design of such structure, the prediction
VLFS displacement is 0.8 times the incident wave amplitude. So the of motion response in waves is essential. The main conclusions of this
non-dimensional amplitude of the hydro-elastic term of the VLFS model work are summarized below.
is 0.1–0.8 with 𝜆𝑤 ∕𝐿 = 0.1 − 1.0. Wavelength change underneath the
structure is ignored. 1. VFFS have much smaller characteristic length than traditional
From Fig. 7, we can see that the bending term is the dominant pontoon-type VLFS and ice-related structures, indicating larger
one in VLFS, while in VFFS, the hydrostatic term, which value is 1 in structure deflections than those two.
Fig. 7(a), is the most important one. The mass related term increases 2. Wave shortening is probable to happen under VFFS when con-
with a decrease in incident wavelength and the amplitude is rather sidering a very small characteristic length of the structure.
small compared to the dominant term in both models. The magnitude 3. Membrane forces are shown to be much more relevant in VFFS
of the membrane related term also increases when the incident wave- compared to VLFS and therefore need to be considered for VFFS
length becomes shorter. However, compared to the dominant term, this simulations. The Föppl–von Kármán plate theory should be used
membrane term is still very small in VLFS, so the effect of this term is to take the geometric nonlinearities and resulting membrane
often neglected in most VLFS research. Whereas in VFFS, the membrane forces induced by larger structure deformations into account.
term could be much larger than the stiffness term when the structure is
Declaration of competing interest
subjected to short waves. Therefore, including bending stiffness while
neglecting membrane stiffness in VFFS research would miss important
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
physics. Worth mentioning that Fig. 7 only shows the results of a very
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
small wave amplitude. For larger wave amplitude, the amplitude of the
influence the work reported in this paper.
structure stiffness term and the mass term would not change because
the non-dimensional representation of these two terms are independent
Data availability
on the wave amplitude However, the amplitude of the membrane term
would increase significantly with increasing wave amplitude as the
Data of Figures 3 and 6 will be made available on request.
dimensionless membrane term still relates to the square of the wave
amplitude.
Acknowledgments
Additionally, as VFFS mainly follows local wave motion, the rota-
tion of the mid-surface normal could be approximated by the slope
This work is financially supported by China Scholarship Council
of the wave surface. The maximum wave slope 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑥 is the amplitude
(No. 2018069 50099).
of the spatial derivative of the wave, i.e. 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 2𝜋𝐴∕𝜆 with the
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