COMPUTERS AND STRUCTURES, INC., BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA JANUARY 2003
AUTOMATIC WAVE LOADS Technical Note Wave Display Plots and Tables This Technical Note discusses the wave display plots and tables that can be viewed while you are defining a wave load. Overview As described in the Technical Note entitled Defining Wave Loads, an automatic wave load case is defined using the Define menu > Load Cases command to open the Define Loads form (shown as Figure 1 in Defining Wave Loads). The load Type is specified as WAVE and the Modify Lateral Loads button is clicked to bring up the Wave Load form shown in Figure 1 on the next page. Two buttons labeled Show Wave Plot and Show Wave Table are at the bottom of the Wave Load form. This technical note describes the function of those two buttons. The Show Wave Plot button allows you to display plots of wave particle velocities, accelerations and pressures in many different formats. Display contour plots and horizontal and vertical section cut plots through the wave. Report wave particle velocities, accelerations and pressures at the mouse pointer location numerically. The Show Wave Table button allows you to display a table that shows the wave particle velocities, accelerations and pressures at points throughout the wave. SAP2000
SAP2000
SAP2000
Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables
Wave Display Plots Page 2 of 15 Figure 1: Wave Load Form Wave Display Plots Figure 2 shows the Wave Plot form as it might typically appear when you first click the Show Wave Plot button on the Wave Load form or the Wave Table form. Note that title bar of the form identifies the name of the wave characteristic parameter set and the name of the current profile parameter set, if any, used to create the wave plot. Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables Wave Display Plots Page 3 of 15 Figure 2: Wave Plot Form The Display Type area of the form is where you set the type of plot that you want to view. The choices are as follows: Click for Values Contours Arrows Vertical Cut Horizontal Cut Each of these options is described in this Technical Note. Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables Wave Display Plots Page 4 of 15 Figure 3: Wave Plot with User Z/X Scaling Ratio The Z/X Scaling Ratio area of the form allows user control over the scale size of the plotted wave. When the default option is used, the program scales the wave plot such that it fills the available plot area. This typically means that the vertical (Z) and horizontal (X) scales of the plot are different. The program reports the Z/X ratio so that you can get a sense of the scaling. If the User scaling option is chosen, input your own Z/X ratio for the plot. Figure 3 shows the same plot as Figure 2, except in Figure 3, the User scaling option has set the Z/X ratio to 1 instead of the default 0.2926. The program has internal limits set on the scaling ratio so that the displayed wave does not get too skinny in one direction. If you input a Z/X ratio that exceeds the internal limit, the program automatically resets to its limit. Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables Wave Display Plots Page 5 of 15 Figure 4: Wave Discretization Two check boxes are in the bottom right corner of the Wave Plot form. The first check box is labeled Show Wave Discretization. When this check box is checked, the wave plot appears as shown in Figure 4. A white grid is superimposed over the wave showing the wave discretization. Exact values of water particle velocities and accelerations, and pressure are calculated at each grid intersection and at the intersection of the vertical grid lines with the wave surface. Intermediate values are interpolated from the calculated values. The second check box is labeled Show Values at Pointer. This feature allows you to move the mouse pointer over the wave and see values of various items, as shown in Figure 5. The items shown vary depending on the display type. Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables Wave Display Plots Page 6 of 15 Figure 5: Show Values at Pointer Other buttons are available in the lower right corner of the Wave Plot form. The Modify/Show Wave button brings up the Wave Characteristics form. Use this button to modify the wave characteristics and then immediately see the effect on the wave plot. The Show Wave Table button brings up the wave table, which is the same wave table as the one accessed from the Wave Load form. The wave table is described later in this Technical Note. The Refresh View button refreshes the wave plot view and the Done button closes the Wave Plot form. The following subsections describe each of the options available in the Display Type area of the Wave Plot form. Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables Wave Display Plots Page 7 of 15 Figure 6: Click for Values Display Type Click for Values Display Type When the display type option is set to Click for Values you can left click any where on the wave and a yellow square appears with its center located where you clicked. In addition, the Values at Yellow Square area appears on the right side of the form, as shown in Figure 6. The following values are reported for the point where you clicked (center of the yellow square) in this area: xwave: The X coordinate of the point in the wave coordinate system. The positive X axis of the wave coordinate system is horizontal in the direction that the wave is traveling. zwave: The Z coordinate of the point in the wave coordinate system. The positive Z axis of the wave coordinate system is in the same direction as the positive global Z axis. The Z axis of the wave coordinate system is referenced from the specified vertical datum. Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables Wave Display Plots Page 8 of 15 vxwave: The horizontal velocity of the wave (not including the current) in the direction that the wave is traveling. vxcurrent: The horizontal velocity of the component of the current in the direction that the wave is traveling. vxtotal: The combined horizontal velocity of the wave and the current in the direction that the wave is traveling. vzwave: The vertical velocity of the wave. axwave: The horizontal acceleration of the wave in the direction that the wave is traveling. azwave: The vertical acceleration of the wave. pressure: The pressure at the specified point. Edit the xwave and zwave coordinates in the Values at Yellow Square area to view the values at an exact location. To modify one of these coordinates, type in the coordinate value and press the Enter key on your keyboard. The velocity, acceleration and pressure values in the Values at Yellow Square area immediately change and the yellow square itself will be moved to the specified location. Contours Display Type When the display type option is set to Contours, the display appears as contours and the Display This Item area appears on the right side of the form, as shown in Figure 7. The following options are available in the Display This Item area: Horiz Wave Velocity: The horizontal velocity of the wave (not including the current) in the direction that the wave is traveling. Horiz Current Velocity: The horizontal velocity of the component of the current in the direction that the wave is traveling. Horiz Total Velocity: The combined horizontal velocity of the wave and the current in the direction that the wave is traveling. Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables Wave Display Plots Page 9 of 15 Figure 7: Contours Display Type Horiz Wave Accel: The horizontal acceleration of the wave in the direction that the wave is traveling. Vertical Wave Velocity: The vertical velocity of the wave. Vertical Wave Accel: The vertical acceleration of the wave. Pressure: The pressure at the specified point. The legend for the contours is displayed at the bottom of the form, along with the maximum and minimum values for the displayed item. Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables Wave Display Plots Page 10 of 15 Figure 8: Arrows Display Type Arrows Display Type When the display type option is set to Arrows, the display appears as contours with arrows superimposed on them and the Display This Item area appears on the right side of the form, as shown in Figure 8. The following options are available in the Display This Item area: Resultant Velocity w/o Current: The vector sum of the horizontal and vertical wave velocity not including the current. Resultant Velocity w/ Current: The vector sum of the horizontal and vertical wave velocity including the contribution of the current. Resultant Acceleration: The vector sum of the horizontal and vertical wave acceleration. Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables Wave Display Plots Page 11 of 15 The contours indicate the magnitude of the resultant velocity or acceleration. The contour legend is displayed at the bottom of the form along with the maximum and minimum values for the displayed item. The arrows serve the dual purpose of indicating the direction and the magnitude of the resultant velocity or acceleration. The lengths of the various arrows are proportional to the resultant magnitude at that location. When the display type option is set to Arrows, the Show Arrows at Actual Angle check box appears in the Z/X Scaling Ratio area. When this check box is unchecked, the arrow direction is shown consistent with current Z/X scaling ratio. Unless the ratio is one, this will not be the true direction of the resultant. When the Show Arrows at Actual Angle check box is checked, the arrows are displayed in their true direction. Suppose, for example, that at some location in the wave the true direction of the resultant is 30 degrees from horizontal. When the Show Arrows at Actual Angle check box is checked, the arrow at that location will graphically appear at 30 degrees from horizontal. If the check box is not checked, the arrow will graphically appear at some angle that is consistent with the current Z/X scaling ratio. Vertical Cut Display Type When the display type option is set to Vertical Cut, a vertical section cut appears through the wave and the Display This Item area appears on the right side of the form, as shown in Figure 9. The options in the Display This Item area are the same as those described for the Contours display type. Use the horizontal scroll bar that appears at the bottom of the form for this display type to drag the vertical section cut to different horizontal positions across the wave. Alternatively, left click on the wave and drag your mouse horizontally while still holding down the left mouse button to reposition the section cut left or right. Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables Wave Display Plots Page 12 of 15 Figure 9: Vertical Cut Display Type Horizontal Cut Display Type When the display type option is set to Horizontal Cut, a horizontal section cut appears across the wave and the Display This Item area appears on the right side of the form, as shown in Figure 10. The options in the Display This Item area are the same as those described for the Contours display type. Use the vertical scroll bar that appears to the right of the wave for this display type to drag the horizontal section cut to different vertical positions on the wave. Alternatively, left click on the wave and drag your mouse vertically while still holding down the left mouse button to reposition the section cut up or down. Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables Wave Display Table Page 13 of 15 Figure 10: Horizontal Cut Display Type Wave Display Table Figure 11 shows the Wave Data Table form as it might typically appear when you first click the Show Wave Table button on the Wave Load form or the Wave Plot form. The data shown in the Wave Data Table form is not editable. It is only for display. The following fields are shown in the display table: Horiz Loc: The X coordinate of the point in the wave coordinate system. The positive X axis of the wave coordinate system is horizontal in the direction that the wave is traveling. Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables Wave Display Table Page 14 of 15 Figure 11: Wave Data Table Form Vrt from Datum: The Z coordinate of the point in the wave coordinate system. The positive Z axis of the wave coordinate system is in the same direction as the positive global Z axis. The Z axis of the wave coordinate system is referenced from the specified vertical datum. Horiz Wave Vel: The horizontal velocity of the wave (not including the current) in the direction that the wave is traveling. Horiz Current Vel: The horizontal velocity of the component of the current in the direction that the wave is traveling. Horiz Total Vel: The combined horizontal velocity of the wave and the current in the direction that the wave is traveling. Horiz Wave Acc: The horizontal acceleration of the wave in the direction that the wave is traveling. Automatic Wave Loads Wave Display Plots and Tables Wave Display Table Page 15 of 15 Figure 12: Wave Data Table Form Showing Data for Horizontal Grid at 123.3543 Vert Wave Vel: The vertical velocity of the wave. Vert Wave Acc: The vertical acceleration of the wave. Pressure: The pressure at the specified point. Note that you can position the mouse pointer in the field name row and drag the columns in the table to different widths if desired. The Display Options area of the form allows you to display subsets of the data at specified vertical or horizontal grid locations. For example, Figure 12 shows data for the horizontal grid at 123.3543. Note that the first row in the table in Figure 12 shows a Vrt from Datum value of 11.4805. This is the wave surface elevation at the 123.3543 horizontal location. In the Wave Data Table form the top value displayed for each horizontal coordinate is the wave surface elevation for that horizontal coordinate.