Experimental Comparison Of The Hydraulic Performance Of Overhanging And Vertical Parapets Under Limited Wave Breaking Conditions: The Case Of The New Offshore Ravenna Lng Terminal (It)

Abstract

Harbors play a pivotal role in global trade, serving as vital gateways for the transportation of goods, fostering economic growth. These essential coastal infrastructures are subjected to relentless forces (e.g. wave action, storm surges, and sea level variation induced by climate change) which can jeopardize their functionality and safety. Safe working conditions are mandatory for the operability of all kinds of harbors. However, particular attention must be paid in the case of terminals dedicated to dangerous goods, as for example Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Composite vertical breakwaters may be efficiently used to protect this kind of terminal and have both advantages and disadvantages over rubble mound breakwaters.

This work presents the results of a 2D experimental campaign carried out to optimize, from a hydraulic point of view, the parapet wall of the new composite vertical breakwater that will be built to protect the new offshore LNG terminal located in in the North Adriatic Sea in the South-East of the Port of Ravenna (Italy). In particular, two types of parapets walls have been compared: one overhanging (recurved in the shape of one fourth of a circumference with a ray of one meter) and one vertical. For each type of parapets, three different heights were evaluated for a total of six different configurations. The typical water depth in the area where the new terminal will be built is approximately -15.0 m with respect to the MSL and the total range of the astronomical tides does not exceed one metre. The terminal is located about 8.0 km far from the coast and is positioned on a very mild seabed foreshore slope of less than 0.05°