This paper will present the results of a study investigating a method of analysis of wave overtopping volume by Mexican hat function. The experiments of wave overtopping on a deck were carried out in the wave flume. The regular waves were considered. The video images of the overtopping phenomenon were captured. These images were digitized. The Mexican hat function was adopted to trace out the exact profiles of the disturbed waves. The disturbed wave profiles were very distorted. However, the Mexican hat function successfully figured out very accurate wave profiles.
Much research has been done on wave overtopping on a deck. Many ships have suffered from significant wave loading on their deck. Many offshore platforms also have suffered on their lower deck (Bea at al. 1999). To investigate the wave overtopping on a deck, information about the kinematics, overtopping water for extreme events, and crest height distributions in relation to the deck clearance are needed. Forristal (1984) investigated crest height distribution in relation to deck clearance. Numerical investigation on these works was done by Yasuda et al. (1994). Stansberg (1983) carried out experimental work on these topics. The authors tried to figure out the wave profile of the overtopping wave on the deck. The profiles of the overtopping wave are very complex due to its nonlinear characteristics. It is known that the Mexican hat function is useful to detect discontinuities in the signal. Marr and Hildreth (1980) introduced the two-dimensional Mexican hat function in vision analysis. The Mexican hat function is applied to the numerical data. The experiments were carried out in a small wave flume to capture the images of overtopping waves on the deck. Three different types of the deck were tested. These images were analyzed by the Mexican hat function.
