Numerical and experimental investigation on deterministic prediction of ocean surface wave and wave excitation force

Floating marine structures implement real-time wave excitation force prediction to address optimal control issues. The accuracy of force prediction relies on adequate wave forecasting. This paper presents a compre-hensive analysis of deterministic wave forecasting by considering various wave steepnesses and directional spreads. In addition, we introduce new methods for predicting wave excitation forces acting on the floating body of interest. The methods are based on a set of frequency coefficients of wave excitation forces, which are generated in conjunction with wave amplitude parameters optimized in the data assimilation and frequency response functions obtained from boundary element method tools. These approaches offer the advantage of streamlining the calculation process, eliminating the need for simulating wave surfaces through wave propagation. Moreover, for the first time, we study a prediction zone for wave excitation forces by comparing predicted forces with theoretical forces. Lastly, the force prediction is validated against experiments conducted on a captive platform model in both unidirectional and multidirectional sea states.