Simulation of hydrodynamic loads for a submerged floating tunnel using a copula-based model

In past decades, the construction of a submerged floating tunnel (SFT) has been presented as an innovative solution for water crossings. One of the main challenges surrounding the design of this type of structure is the lack of data since no SFT has been constructed yet, except for a prototype in Qingdao Lake in China (Mazzolani, Faggiano, & Martire 2010). Additionally, there are uncertainties related to the environmental variables relevant for the construction and operation of a SFT. Wave and current data will be considered for this study. These variables are usually taken as deterministic for design of marine and hydraulic structures and its values represent extreme events. In this paper, a joint probability distribution analysis is proposed to characterize the variables and their dependence. This task was carried out using a copula-based model. In this way, the design conditions for the SFT can be modeled more realistically. The results are several synthetic time series of hourly values and extreme values of all the variables involved.