A Numerical Investigation of the Reduction of Solitary Wave Runup by A Row of Vertical Slotted Piles

Abstract

To improve the current understanding of the reduction of tsunami-like solitary wave runup by the pile breakwater on a sloping beach, we developed a 3D numerical wave tank based on the CFD tool OpenFOAM® in this study. The Navier-Stokes equations were applied to solve the two-phase incompressible flow, combined with an LES model to solve the turbulence and a VOF method to capture the free surface. The adopted model was firstly validated with existing empirical formulas for solitary wave runup on the slope without the pile structure. It is then validated using our new laboratory observations of the free surface elevation, the velocity and the pressure around a row of vertical slotted piles subjected to solitary waves, as well as the wave runup on the slope behind the piles. Subsequently, a set of numerical simulations were implemented to analyze the wave reflection, the wave transmission, and the shoreline runup with various offshore wave heights, offshore water depths, adjacent pile spaces and beach slopes. Finally, an improved empirical equation accounting for the maximum wave runup on the slope was proposed by taking the presence of the pile breakwater into consideration.