CLASSIFICATION NOTES

No. 30.5

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AND

ENVIRONMENTAL LOADS
MARCH 2000

DET NORSKE VERITAS

Veritasveien 1, N-1322 Høvik, Norway Tel.: +47 67 57 99 00 Fax: +47 67 57 99 11
FOREWORD
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DET NORSKE VERITAS AS (DNV AS), a fully owned subsidiary Society of the Foundation, undertakes classification and
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Classification Notes

Classification Notes are publications which give practical information on classification of ships and other objects. Examples of
design solutions, calculation methods, specifications of test procedures, as well as acceptable repair methods for some
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In "Rules for Classification of Fixed Offshore Installations", only those Classification Notes which are relevant for this type of
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CONTENTS
1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................................4
1.1 General............................................................................................................................................................................4
1.2 Environmental conditions ...............................................................................................................................................4
1.3 Environmental loads .......................................................................................................................................................4
2. Wind conditions ................................................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Average wind..................................................................................................................................................................4
2.2 Gust wind........................................................................................................................................................................5
3. Wave conditions ................................................................................................................................................................6
3.1 Wave theories .................................................................................................................................................................6
3.2 Short term wave conditions ............................................................................................................................................7
3.3 Long-term wave statistics .............................................................................................................................................10
4. Current and tide..............................................................................................................................................................15
4.1 Current ..........................................................................................................................................................................15
4.2 Tide...............................................................................................................................................................................15
5. Wind loads.......................................................................................................................................................................16
5.1 Wind pressure ...............................................................................................................................................................16
5.2 Wind forces...................................................................................................................................................................16
5.3 The shape coefficient ....................................................................................................................................................17
5.4 Wind effects on helidecks.............................................................................................................................................20
5.5 Dynamic analysis of wind sensitive structures .............................................................................................................20
5.6 Model tests....................................................................................................................................................................21
6. Wave and current loads .................................................................................................................................................21
6.1 Wave and current loads on slender members................................................................................................................21
6.2 Wave loads on large volume structures ........................................................................................................................28
6.3 Second order wave loads on large volume structures ...................................................................................................28
6.4 Slamming loads from waves .........................................................................................................................................29
6.5 Shock pressure from breaking waves............................................................................................................................30
7. Vortex induced oscillations ............................................................................................................................................30
7.1 General..........................................................................................................................................................................30
7.2 Wind induced vortex shedding .....................................................................................................................................34
7.3 Current induced vortex shedding ..................................................................................................................................34
7.4 Wave induced vortex shedding .....................................................................................................................................36
7.5 Methods for reducing vortex-induced oscillations........................................................................................................38
8. References........................................................................................................................................................................40

DET NORSKE VERITAS

4 Classification Notes No. 30.5

March 2000

1. Introduction
1.1 General
1.1.1
This Classification Note gives guidance for description of
important environmental conditions as well as giving
guidance for arriving at environmental loads.
Environmental conditions are described in clauses 2-4 while
environmental loads are described in clauses 5-7.
1.2 Environmental conditions
1.2.1
Environmental conditions cover natural phenomena which
may contribute to structural damages, operation disturbances
or navigation failures. Phenomena of general importance are:
· Wind
· Waves
· Current.
1.2.4
Empirical, statistical data used as a basis for evaluation of
operation and design must cover a sufficiently long time
period. For operations of a limited duration, seasonal
variations must be taken into account. For meteorological
and oceanographical data 20 years of recordings should be
available. If the data record is shorter the climatic uncertainty
should be included in the analysis. Earthquakes must be
based on long-term historical data.
1.3 Environmental loads
1.3.1
Environmental loads are loads caused by environmental
phenomena.
Environmental loads to be used for design are to be based on
environmental data for the specific location and operation in
question, and are to be determined by use of relevant
methods applicable for the location/operation taking into
account type of structure, size, shape and response
characteristics.

Phenomena which may be important in specific cases are:

2. Wind conditions
· Ice
· Earthquake 2.1 Average wind
· Soil conditions
· Temperature 2.1.1
· Fouling Wind velocity changes both with time and with height above
· Visibility the sea surface. For this reason the averaging time and height
· Tides must always be specified.

Common reference height level is z = 10 metres. Common

1.2.2 averaging times are 1 minute, 10 minutes or 1 hour.
The phenomena are usually described by physical variables
of statistical nature. The statistical description should reveal Wind velocity averaged over 1 minute is often referred to as
the extreme conditions as well as the long- and short-term sustained wind velocity.
variations. If a reliable simultaneous database exists the
environmental phenomena can be described by joint 2.1.2
probabilities. The average wind speed and the wind height profile may be
estimated by the formula
1.2.3
The environmental design data should be representative for æ z t ö
U ( z , t ) = U ( z r , t r ) çç 1 + 0 . 137 ln - 0 . 047 ln ÷÷
the geographical areas where the structure will be situated, or è zr tr ø
where the operation will take place. For ships and other
mobile units which operate world-wide, environmental data where
for particularly hostile areas, such as the North Atlantic
Ocean, may be considered. z = height above the still water sea surface level.
zr = reference height = 10m.
t = averaging time (minutes).
tr = reference time = 10 minutes.
U (z, t) = average wind speed by specified z and t.
U (zr, tr) = reference wind speed.

The ratio U (z, t)/ U (zr, tr) is given in Table 2.1:

DET NORSKE VERITAS

Classification Notes No. 30.5 5

March 2000

Table 2.1 Wind speed ratios.

z (metres) Time

3 seconds 5 seconds 15 seconds 1 minute 10 minutes 60 minutes

1.0 0.934 0.910 0.858 0.793 0.685 0.600
5.0 1.154 1.130 1.078 1.013 0.905 0.821
10.0 1.249 1.225 1.173 1.108 1.000 0.916
20.0 1.344 1.320 1.268 1.203 1.095 1.011
30.0 1.399 1.375 1.324 1.259 1.151 1.066
40.0 1.439 1.415 1.363 1.298 1.190 1.106
50.0 1.469 1.445 1.394 1.329 1.220 1.136
100.0 1.564 1.540 1.489 1.424 1.315 1.231

2.1.3
2.2 Gust wind
The statistical behavior of the average wind speed U (z, t)
referred to a fixed height and averaging time may be 2.2.1
described by the Weibull distribution given as:
In the short time range the wind may be considered as a
random gust wind component with zero mean value,
é æ cù
U ö÷ ú superposed upon the constant, average wind component.
Pr ( U) = 1 - exp ê- çç
ê è U o ÷ø ú
ë û
2.2.2
where Gust wind cycles with a period shorter than about 1 minute,
may be described by the Harris gust spectrum:
Pr (U) = cumulative probability of U
~
U = U (z, t) = wind speed f
f × S(f ) = 4 kU 2 (z, t )
Uo = Weibull scale parameter ( ~2
2+f )
5/ 6

c = Weibull slope parameter S(f ) = power spectral density (m2/Hz)

f = frequency (Hz)
2.1.4 ~ = non-dimensional frequency,
f
The most probable largest wind speed for an exposure time, ~
f = f × L / U ( z, t )
T, may be obtained by:
L = length scale dimension (m); may be
1/ c
æ Tö chosen equal to 1800 m
U max (z, t ) = U o çç ln ÷
÷
è Ta ø = surface drag coefficient; may be chosen
k
equal to 0.0020 for rough sea and 0.0015
where
for moderate sea.
Ta = average time period of constant wind speed,
U ( z, t ) = average wind velocity.
usually 3 hours.
This gust spectrum should not be applied for f < 10 -2 Hz .

2.2.3
Gust wind velocity, defined for instance as the average wind
velocity during an interval of 3 seconds, may normally be
assumed to follow the Weibull distribution, see 2.1.3 - 2.1.4.

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