Experimental Comparison of Hydrodynamic Characteristics of Submerged Floating Tunnel with Different Cross-Sectional Shape

Abstract

This study conducted physical experiments to investigate hydrodynamic characteristics of the submerged floating tunnel (SFT) under wave loading, when the cross-sectional shape of the SFT was either oval or rectangular. By analyzing the experimental data, the performance of the two SFT models were compared with that of the conventional SFT of circular cross-section, which already reported by a previous study (Oh et al., 2013). The experimental results showed that the tensile forces on the tethering lines and the associated wave pressures on the SFT body apparently vary according to the change of the cross-sectional shape of the SFT. In general, the rectangular cross-section was less effective because the tensile forces on the tethering lines and the pressures on the SFT body were greater than those of the oval cross-section.