Fully non-linear free-surface simulations by a 3D viscous numerical wave tank

Abstract

A finite difference scheme using a modified marker-and-cell (MAC) method is applied to investigate the characteristics of non-linear wave motions and their interactions with a stationary three-dimensional body inside a numerical wave tank (NWT). The Navier–Stokes (NS) equation is solved for two fluid layers, and the boundary values are updated at each time step by a finite difference time marching scheme in the frame of a rectangular co-ordinate system. The viscous stresses and surface tension are neglected in the dynamic free-surface condition, and the fully non-linear kinematic free-surface condition is satisfied by the density function method developed for two fluid layers. The incident waves are generated from the inflow boundary by prescribing a velocity profile resembling flexible flap wavemaker motions, and the outgoing waves are numerically dissipated inside an artificial damping zone located at the end of the tank. The present NS–MAC NWT simulations for a vertical truncated circular cylinder inside a rectangular wave tank are compared with the experimental results of Mercier and Niedzwecki, an independently developed potential-based fully non-linear NWT, and the second-order diffraction computation. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.