An Iterative Method for Interaction of Hydro-Elastic Waves with Several Vertical Cylinders of Circular Cross-Sections

The problem of ice loads acting on multiple vertical cylinders of circular cross-sections frozen in an ice cover of infinite extent is studied. The loads are caused by a flexural-gravity wave propagating in the ice cover towards the rigid bottom-mounted cylinders. This is a three-dimensional linearized problem of hydroelasticity with finite water depth. The flow under the ice is potential and incompressible. The problem is solved by the vertical mode method combined with an iterative method. The velocity potential is written with respect to each cylinder and is expanded into the Fourier series. The algorithm of the problem solving is reduced to calculations of the Fourier coefficients of the velocity potential. Numerical results for the forces acting on four circular cylinders are presented for different ice thicknesses, incident wave angles and cylinder spacing. The obtained wave forces are compared with the results by others. Good agreement is reported.