Extremes of Wave Forces

Probabilistic descriptors are developed for Morison‐type wave forces. They are based on the actual distribution of these forces and on the hypothesis that wave forces follow Gaussian distributions. The Gaussian hypothesis is characteristic of analyses based on statistical linearization. Results show that this hypothesis provides unsatisfactory estimates for the peak of wave forces during design storms. Both the mean and the variance of the peak wave force can be underestimated significantly when the Gaussian hypothesis is applied. It is assumed in the analysis that the wave particle velocity process follows a Gaussian distribution.