The project will involve identifying Design Waves on structures with different driving loads, with focus on offshore renewables. Design Waves are sequences of waves which induce the extreme load or extreme response on an offshore structure. The concept is relevant in offshore structural design as a Design Wave is a short deterministic wave sequence which can be exploited as input in high fidelity nonlinear time domain modelling and thus facilitate accurate and minimally conservative design of offshore structures.

This project will explore the full process of identifying and constructing Design Waves and testing physically on a structure for the first time. The overall aim is to develop a framework for identifying Design Waves for a variety of renewable energy devices and further to explore the limits of applicability of Design Wave theory.

The structures to be studied are a fixed barge structure subject to amplified beam waves, an M4 wave energy converter and a floating offshore wind turbine. The proposed methods will involve statistical analysis of available data from physical laboratory-scale tests, combined with numerical modelling and validation by physical testing in a wave tank.

The project aims to advance the existing methodologies to include non-linearly driven responses and directionally spread seas.

How did being a part of the Blue Economy CRC positively impact your research?

My involvement with the Blue Economy CRC has had a big influence on my research, mainly as it allowed me to participate in research into the M4 wave energy converter, preparing for the deployment in Albany last year. I travelled to Launceston to participate in wave basin experiments at the Australian Maritime College. Participating in these experiments was one of the highlights of my PhD as the collaboration with local researchers was really rewarding. I was able to influence the experiments to include tests relevant to my project. The results of the epxeriments now constitute a large part of my thesis, and the findings have greatly improved the main conclusions of the thesis.

How valuable was the access to other research and industry partners through events such as the Participants Workshop?

The Blue Economy CRC kindly sponsored my participation in the 2025 International Conference on Ocean Energy, where I got an opportunity to disseminate my results with an internatioal audience, gaining valuable feedback on the work.

How valuable was the access to other research and industry partners through events such as the Participants Workshop?

I attended the annual Participants Workshop and found that the Blue Economy CRC prioritises introducing their PhD students to industry partners very highly. I attended a networking event which provided me with indsustry contacts to get me started on building an industry network after finishing my PhD. Participating in the 2023 PhD summer school in Albany was a highlight of my candidature. Meeting and learning from PhD students from different fields and universities gave me confidence in the quality and relevance of my own research as well as valuable contacts.