Work

Experimental Determination of Forces and Hydrodynamic Coefficients on Vertical Cylinders Under Wave and Current Conditions

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This paper presents an extensive experimental study on the hydrodynamic behavior of vertical cylinders representative of the structural elements of offshore floating photovoltaic (OFPV) platforms under both wave and steady-current conditions. The objectives are to determine reliable hydrodynamic coefficients for Morison-type formulations and to analyze the wake effects between cylinders for modular floating configurations. Tests under regular waves are conducted in a 25 m long wave flume at the Energy Engineering Department of the Bilbao School of Engineering. The obtained inertia and drag coefficients follow the expected trends for a wide range of Keulegan–Carpenter (KC) numbers, aligning well with classical experimental studies. Steady-current experiments are conducted in the same flume using a towing tank method. Again, the obtained drag coefficients align well with previous studies. As for the wake provoked by the first cylinder on the second cylinder located downstream at one of four different distances, in the wave cases, the wake attenuation is minimal and rapid recovery of the flow is observed for a wide range of KC values, while in the steady-current cases, the wake is stronger and affects the forces acting on the second cylinder.

Source: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

DOI: 10.3390/jmse14020129

Authors: Oier Peña Vega, Urko Izquierdo, Iñigo Albaina, Gustavo A. Esteban, Iñigo Bidaguren, Jesús María Blanco

Institution: University of the Basque Country

Language: English

Topic: Fluid Dynamics and Vibration Analysis

Subfield: Computational Mechanics

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137

Funder: Eusko Jaurlaritza