Determination of Environmental Conditions Relevant for the Ultimate Limit State at an Exposed Aquaculture Location

Abstract

Methods for determination of environmental conditions relevant for the ultimate limit state at an exposed aquaculture location are proposed. The considered location is in Frohavet, northwest of Trondheim, Norway. Wind, waves and current are considered, but as more severe wave conditions are expected to be the most influential environmental factor when going from sheltered to more exposed locations, particular focus has been given on the description of wave conditions. The estimated long term description of wind and waves are based on 16 year of SWAN hindcast data, where the wave data have been calibrated against one year of in-situ measurements. One month of current measurements were available. The initial distribution method is used to determine the long term distribution of wind and wave conditions. The data fit the applied distributions well, but the sea state characteristics are seen to be highly directional dependent, which is important to take into account. The effect of using only one year of wave data is also investigated, showing that this can lead to significant underestimation of the extreme values. Concepts from the environmental contour line method are applied for determination of sea states corresponding to a given annual probability of exceedance. A deterministic approach from NS 9415 is used to determine the extreme current velocities. Comments on the use of directional criteria for design are also given.