Numerical simulation of nonlinear wave force on a quasi-ellipse caisson

Abstract

A three dimensional numerical model of nonlinear wave action on a quasi-ellipse caisson in a time domain was developed in this paper. Navier-Stokes equations were solved by the finite difference method, and the volume of fluid (VOF) method was employed to trace the free surface. The partial cell method was used to deal with the irregular boundary typical of this type of problem during first-time wave interaction with the structure, and a satisfactory result was obtained. The numerical model was verified and used to investigate the effects of the relative wave height H/d, relative caisson width kD, and relative length-width ratio B/D on the wave forces of the quasi-ellipse caisson. It was shown that the relative wave height H/d has a significant effect on the wave forces of the caisson. Compared with the non-dimensional inline wave force, the relative length-width ratio B/D was shown to have significant influence on the non-dimensional transverse wave force.