Coastal Protection (DM-26.2), Section 7: Wave Forces on Cylindrical Piles

This section gives methods for finding the wave force on cylindrical piles, which matter for piers, offshore platforms, and other pile-supported structures. It starts with the basic equations for forces, moments, and drag and inertial coefficients, and then covers the limiting wave height and the wave-crest elevation.

The rest of the section is organized as eight cases of increasing complexity. They run from the maximum force on a single pile of small, uniform diameter for preliminary design, through piles of intermediate or nonuniform diameter, to nonlinear corrections for final design, groups of piles, bracing, and forces from breaking waves. Each case lists its range of application and shows how to find the maximum force, the maximum moment, and the reaction.

Pick the simplest case that fits your pile, then move to a higher case if the preliminary design is close to the limit.

In this chapter

• Introduction
• Basic Equations
  • Forces
  • Moments
  • Drag and inertial coefficients
• Limiting Wave Height
• Wave-Crest Elevation
• Case 1: Single Pile, Small Uniform Diameter
• Case 2: Pile of Intermediate Uniform Diameter
• Case 3: Single Pile, Small Nonuniform Diameter
• Case 4: Wave Force at an Arbitrary Phase Angle
• Case 5: Nonlinear Corrections for Final Design
• Case 6: Combination of Piles
• Case 7: Bracing
  • Horizontal bracing
  • Angle bracing
• Case 8: Forces Due to Breaking Waves