The Efficient Application of an Impulse Source Wavemaker to CFD Simulations

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, based on Reynolds-AveragedNavier–Stokes (RANS) models, are a useful tool for a wide range of coastal and offshore applications,providing a high fidelity representation of the underlying hydrodynamic processes. Generating inputwaves in the CFD simulatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of marine science and engineering 2019-03, Vol.7 (3), p.71
Main Authors: Schmitt, Pal, Windt, Christian, Davidson, Josh, Ringwood, John V, Whittaker, Trevor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Boundary conditions
Calibration
CFD
Computational fluid dynamics
Computer applications
Elevation
Fluid dynamics
Free surfaces
Freeware
Hydrodynamics
internal wavemaker
Mathematical models
Methods
numerical wave tank
Offshore
OpenFOAM
Physical simulation
Shallow water
Simulation
Source code
Turbulence models
Water depth
Water waves
Wave generation
Wave packets
Wave tanks
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Summary:Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, based on Reynolds-AveragedNavier–Stokes (RANS) models, are a useful tool for a wide range of coastal and offshore applications,providing a high fidelity representation of the underlying hydrodynamic processes. Generating inputwaves in the CFD simulation is performed by a Numerical Wavemaker (NWM), with a variety ofdifferent NWM methods existing for this task. While NWMs, based on impulse source methods, havebeen widely applied for wave generation in depth averaged, shallow water models, they have notseen the same level of adoption in the more general RANS-based CFD simulations, due to difficultiesin relating the required impulse source function to the resulting free surface elevation for non-shallowwater cases. This paper presents an implementation of an impulse source wavemaker, which is ableto self-calibrate the impulse source function to produce a desired wave series in deep or shallowwater at a specific point in time and space. Example applications are presented, for a NumericalWave Tank (NWT), based on the open-source CFD software OpenFOAM, for wave packets in deepand shallow water, highlighting the correct calibration of phase and amplitude. Furthermore, thesuitability for cases requiring very low reflection from NWT boundaries is demonstrated. Possibleissues in the use of the method are discussed, and guidance for accurate application is given.
ISSN:2077-1312
2077-1312
DOI:10.3390/jmse7030071