Editing Wave loading

{{Short description|Application of a pulsed or wavelike load to a material or object}}
{{Disputed|date=March 2008}}

[[File:Jacket Wave.ogv|thumb|right|300px|Wave loading on the [[oil platform|steel jacket structure]] of a Production Utilities Quarters Compression (PUQC) platform in the Rong Doi oil field, offshore Vietnam (see [[Oil megaprojects (2010)]]).]]

'''Wave loading''' is most commonly the application of a pulsed or wavelike [[Structural load|load]] to a material or object.  This is most commonly used in the analysis of piping, ships, or building structures which experience wind, water, or [[earthquake|seismic disturbances]].

==Examples of wave loading==
* Offshore storms and pipes: As large waves pass over shallowly buried pipes, [[Fluid pressure|water pressure]] increases above it.  As the trough approaches, pressure over the pipe drops and this sudden and repeated variation in pressure can break pipes.<ref>[[John T. Christian]] et al., “Large Diameter Underwater Pipeline for [[Nuclear power plant|Nuclear Power Plant]] Designed Against [[Soil liquefaction|Soil Liquefaction]],” Offshore Technology Conference Preprints, Vol. 2, [[Houston, Texas]], 6&ndash;8 May 1974, pp. 597&ndash;606.</ref> The difference in pressure for a wave with wave height of about 10 m would be equivalent to one atmosphere (101.3 kPa or 14.7 psi) pressure variation between crest and trough and repeated fluctuations over pipes in relatively shallow environments could set up resonance vibrations within pipes or structures and cause problems.
* Engineering oil platforms: The effects of wave-loading are a serious issue for engineers designing [[oil platform]]s, which must contend with the effects of wave loading, and have devised a number of algorithms to do so.

==References==
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[[Category:Waves]]
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