Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/R64971/01
Title:	Modelling Extreme Water Waves.
Principal Investigator:	Swan, Professor C
Other Investigators:	Tromans, Dr P
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Civil & Environmental Engineering
Organisation:	Imperial College London
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	26 May 2002	Ends:	25 November 2005	Value (£):	214,965
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Coastal & Waterway Engineering
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Transport Systems and Vehicles
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The project concerns the fundamental description of extreme water waves and seeks to provide an improved description of both the water surface elevation and the underlying water particle kinematics. A fully nonlinear three-dimensional wave model, developed with EPSRC support at Imperial College, will be used to create a new database describing the evolution of extreme waves in realistic seas. This data will be used to investigate the local energy transfers in the vicinity of extreme wave events. Preliminary results suggest that these transfers play a dominant role in defining the properties of the largest waves and may also provide an explanation for the occurrence of Rogue Waves. Such waves an: the subject of much debate and are of enormous practical importance. The present proposal will examine this hypothesis, investigate fully the role played by directionality and water depth, and ensure rigorous validation by comparison to recent field data. The database will also include exact numerical calculations of the water particle kinematics. Comparisons with this data will identify the adequacy (or otherwise) of the commonly applied design wave solutions, the improvements offered by recently developed wave theories, and the practical relevance of improved kinematic predictions for both shallow-water coastal engineering and deep-water ocean engineering applications. A key element in the proposal is the international collaboration with Professor R.J. Sobey from the University of Califomia at Berkeley, USA. The models and skills developed at Imperial College and Berkeley are strongly complementary, with collaboration providing the best opportunity for fundamental scientific advance in the practically important area of extreme wave modelling.
Key Findings
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Potential use in non-academic contexts
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Impacts
Description This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk Summary Date Materialised
Sectors submitted by the Researcher
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Project URL:
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.imperial.ac.uk