Wave Radiation by A Submerged Ring Plate in Water of Finite Depth

A plate submerged at a certain depth underneath the sea surface has been proposed as a structure type for different purposes, including motion response reduction, wave control, and wave energy harvesting. In the present study, the three-dimensional wave radiation problem is investigated in the context of the linear potential theory for a submerged ring plate in isolation or attached to a floating column as an appendage. In the latter case, the ring plate is attached at a certain distance above the column bottom. The structure is assumed to undergo a heave motion. An analytical model is developed to solve the wave radiation problem via the eigenfunction expansion method in association with the region-matching technique. With the velocity potential being available, the hydrodynamic coefficients, such as added mass and radiation damping, are obtained through the direct pressure integration. An alternative solution of radiation damping has also been developed in this study, in which the radiation damping is related to the Kochin function in the wave radiation problem. After validating the present model, numerical analysis is performed in detail to assess the influence of various plate parameters, such as the plate size and submergence depth. It is noted that the additional added mass due to the attached ring plate is larger than that when the plate is in isolation. Meanwhile, the radiation damping of the column for the heave motion can vanish at a specific wave frequency by attaching a ring plate, corresponding to a condition that there exist no progressive waves in the exterior region.