A Three-Dimensional Numerical Model with an L-Type Wave-Maker System for Water Wave Simulations by the Moving Boundary Method

Wei Jia,Yuping Fan,Shuxue Liu,Jinxuan Li

doi:10.3390/w12010161

Abstract

A three-dimensional numerical wave tank was developed based on Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes equations and the volume of fluid method. The moving boundary method is adopted in this model to generate water waves. Piston-type wave-makers are mimicked for the total replication of the physical wave tank conditions. Two-dimensional regular and irregular waves are simulated, with the capability to trigger the active wave absorption algorithm. The two-sided wave-maker system with L-type arrangement is adopted in this model to expand the effective wave areas for three-dimensional waves. Oblique regular waves and multidirectional random waves are simulated, yielding a good agreement with theoretical solutions. The results indicate that this numerical model is an effective tool to provide finer details or complement data unavailable due to the physical setting of a tank experiment.

Highlights

Within the field of coastal engineering, physical modeling, and numerical simulation are the two main experimental approaches
The piston-type wave-makers were mimicked by the moving boundary based on Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations
The piston-type wave-makers were mimicked by the moving boundary method to generate water waves in thisinmodel

Summary

Introduction

Within the field of coastal engineering, physical modeling, and numerical simulation are the two main experimental approaches. Physical modeling can exactly reproduce the wave propagation and deformation process in the laboratory, but this method is costly and limited by the setting of the experimental facilities in which they are conducted. Over the past few decades, various numerical models have been developed to simulate wave propagation, deformation and the water–structure interaction. The Boussinesq equation models and shallow water equation models are widely used to simulate the wave propagation process in coastal zones. These equations can be seen as simplified Navier–Stokes equations, averaged in the vertical direction. The simplified equations are subject to many limitations, among which the impossibility of simulating the wave breaking process without an additional dissipation scheme

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Conclusion