Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/11681/10604
Title: Preliminary evaluation of wind and wave effects at potential LNG terminal sites, State of California
Authors: California Coastal Commission
Hales, Lyndell Z.
Keywords: California
Water wave refraction
Water waves
Liquefied Natural Gas terminal sites
LNG
Wind
Meteorology
Topography
Wind waves
Water wave characteristics
Hindcasting
Hindcasts
Publisher: Hydraulics Laboratory (U.S.)
Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.)
Series/Report no.: Miscellaneous paper (U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station) ; H-78-2.
Description: Miscellaneous Paper
Abstract: The California Legislature decreed that the California Coastal Commission had until 1 February 1978 to identify, evaluate, and rank alternate potential Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal sites on the California coast. Because of the Corps' experience in various aspects of such studies, the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station was requested by the Coastal Commission to assist, particularly in the use of existing hindcast data to evaluate possible effects of wind and waves on the docking and unloading of a LNG tanker. The effect of wind and wave climate was relatively evaluated at 26 potential LNG terminal sites along the coast of California. The analysis did not apply wave refraction theory at any of the sites, so the absolute magnitudes of the values obtained at each site are subject to refinement. The computations which were performed were optimized on a site-specific basis; i.e., they have been determined by utilizing the situations unique to that one particular location, and the results should not be extrapolated far beyond the respective site, if at all. It was concluded that in the absence of breakwater protection and using the assumptions under which this study was conducted, the sites south of Point Conception will, in general, have a higher percentage of operating time than locations to the north. That is not to say, however, that a northern site could not be selected, adequately protected, and effectively used. Wind and sea conditions are not independent, because the occurrence of high seas is usually accompanied by high winds. Hence, downtime caused by high waves should not be merely added to downtime caused by excessive winds. Probably a fairly good first approximation would be to take the larger of the downtimes caused by optimized wave or wind conditions and add to this the supplemental downtime caused by northern or southern swell. Of all the sites investigated, sea conditions accounted for 65 percent of the optimized downtime, northern hemisphere swell accounted for 22 percent, and southern hemisphere swell was responsible for around 13 percent, on the average. Of course , some sites were geographically oriented so that they did not receive any southern swell and others did not receive any northern swell. One site, WES 11a, is exposed only to sea conditions. In order to refine the downtime at a site, the best available wave climate for that site should be ascertained. To improve the wave climate estimate, it is necessary to refract the deepwater hindcast data to the LNG site and obtain the refracted and shoaled wave condition. Generalized discussions are insufficient inasmuch as the localized topography entirely influences the resulting wave regime, and the effects are different for different periods and different directions of approach. The wave field is the primary input variable in any type of wave action study; and it is imperative that the statistics be as correct as possible in order that the decision-making process be based on valid data. NOTE: This file is very large. Allow your browser several minutes to download the file.
Rights: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/11681/10604
Appears in Collections:Miscellaneous Paper

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