Hawaii Deep Water Cable Program, phase II : high frequency wave analysis for the Alenuihaha Channel

Abstract

One of the major obstacles in the design and deployment of this power cable system is the Alenuihaha Channel located between the islands of Hawaii and Maui. Not only is the 1,920m (6,300 ft) depth of the channel a significant constraint, but the Alenuihaha Channel is well renowned for its severe wind and wave environment. In order to quantify the magnitude of wave energy in the high frequency region, a surface wave measurement program was initiated and is herein described. The purpose of this measurement and analysis effort was two fold. First, high frequency wave measurements were to be obtained and compared with the theoretical spectrum models used by Vega et al. (1984) for, verification and validation purposes. If the measured high frequency wave energy characteristics were significantly different from the theoretical spectra, then the second objective was to develop an analytical representation for the high frequency energy region which could then be applied to future cable-barge dynamic simulations. As part of this second objective, the analytical representation of the high frequency wave spectrum should be of a form generally utilized for dynamic analysis input.