scholarly journals VALIDATION OF A BUOYANCY-MODIFIED TURBULENCE MODEL BY NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF BREAKING WAVES OVER A FIXED BAR

Author(s):  
Brecht Devolder ◽  
Peter Troch ◽  
Pieter Rauwoens

The surf zone dynamics are governed by important processes such as turbulence generation , nearshore sediment transport , wave run-up and wave overtopping at a coastal structure. During field observations , it is very challenging to measure and quantify wave breaking turbulence . Complementary to experimental laboratory studies in a more controlled environment , numerical simulations are highly suitable to understand and quantify surf zone processes more accurately. In this study, wave propagation and wave breaking over a fixed barred beach profile is investigated using a two­ phase Navier-Stokes flow solver. We show that accurate predictions of the turbulent two-phase flow field require special attention regarding turbulence modelling. The numerical wave flume is implemented in the open­ source OpenFOAM library. The computed results (surface elevations , velocity profiles and turbulence levels) are compared against experimental measurements in a wave flume (van der A et al., 2017) .

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuefeng Zou ◽  
Liangsheng Zhu ◽  
Jun Zhao

Coastal plants can significantly dissipate water wave energy and services as a part of shoreline protection. Using plants as a natural buffer from wave impacts remains an attractive possibility. In this paper, we present a numerical investigation on the effects of the emerged vegetation on non-breaking, breaking and broken wave propagation through vegetation over flat and sloping beds using the Reynolds-average Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations coupled with a volume of fluid (VOF) surface capturing method. The multiphase two-equation k-ω SST turbulence model is adopted to simulate wave breaking and takes into account the effects enhanced by vegetation. The numerical model is validated with existing data from several laboratory experiments. The sensitivities of wave height evolution due to wave conditions and vegetation characteristics with variable bathymetry have been investigated. The results show good agreement with measured data. For non-breaking waves, the wave reflection due to the vegetation can increase wave height in front of the vegetation. For breaking waves, it is shown that the wave breaking behavior can be different when the vegetation is in the surf zone. The wave breaking point is slightly earlier and the wave height at the breaking point is smaller with the vegetation. For broken waves, the vegetation has little effect on the wave height before the breaking point. Meanwhile, the inertia force is important within denser vegetation and is intended to decrease the wave damping of the vegetation. Overall, the present model has good performance in simulating non-breaking, breaking and broken wave interaction with the emerged vegetation and can achieve a better understanding of wave propagation over the emerged vegetation.


Fluids ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Alberello ◽  
Alessandro Iafrati

Wave breaking is the most characteristic feature of the ocean surface. Physical investigations (in the field and at laboratory scale) and numerical simulations have studied the driving mechanisms that lead to wave breaking and its effects on hydrodynamic loads on marine structures. Despite computational advances, accurate numerical simulations of the complex breaking process remain challenging. Validation of numerical codes is routinely performed against experimental observations of the surface elevation. However, it is still uncertain whether simulations can accurately reproduce the velocity field under breaking waves due to the lack of ad-hoc measurements. In the present work, the velocity field recorded with a Particle Image Velocimetry method during experiments conducted in a unidirectional wave tank is directly compared to the results of a corresponding numerical simulation performed with a Navier–Stokes (NS) solver. It is found that simulations underpredict the velocity close to the wave crest compared to measurements. Higher resolutions seem necessary in order to capture the most relevant details of the flow.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 264
Author(s):  
Shanti Bhushan ◽  
Oumnia El Fajri ◽  
Graham Hubbard ◽  
Bradley Chambers ◽  
Christopher Kees

This study evaluates the capability of Navier–Stokes solvers in predicting forward and backward plunging breaking, including assessment of the effect of grid resolution, turbulence model, and VoF, CLSVoF interface models on predictions. For this purpose, 2D simulations are performed for four test cases: dam break, solitary wave run up on a slope, flow over a submerged bump, and solitary wave over a submerged rectangular obstacle. Plunging wave breaking involves high wave crest, plunger formation, and splash up, followed by second plunger, and chaotic water motions. Coarser grids reasonably predict the wave breaking features, but finer grids are required for accurate prediction of the splash up events. However, instabilities are triggered at the air–water interface (primarily for the air flow) on very fine grids, which induces surface peel-off or kinks and roll-up of the plunger tips. Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) turbulence models result in high eddy-viscosity in the air–water region which decays the fluid momentum and adversely affects the predictions. Both VoF and CLSVoF methods predict the large-scale plunging breaking characteristics well; however, they vary in the prediction of the finer details. The CLSVoF solver predicts the splash-up event and secondary plunger better than the VoF solver; however, the latter predicts the plunger shape better than the former for the solitary wave run-up on a slope case.


2012 ◽  
Vol 204-208 ◽  
pp. 4971-4977
Author(s):  
Ya Mei Lan ◽  
Wen Hua Guo ◽  
Yong Guo Li

The CFD software FLUENT was used as the foundation to develop the numerical wave flume, in which the governing equations are the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations and the standard k~ε turbulence model. The wave generating and absorbing were introduced into the RANS equations as the source terms using the relaxation approach. A new module of the wave generating and absorbing function, which is suitable for FLUENT based on the volume of fluid method (VOF), was established. Within the numerical wave flume, the reflected waves from the model within the computation domain can be absorbed effectively before second reflection appears due to the wave generating boundary. The computational results of the wave pressures on the bottom of the rectangular slab were validated for the different relative clearance by the experimental data. Good agreements were found.


2014 ◽  
Vol 638-640 ◽  
pp. 1769-1777
Author(s):  
Zi Tong Yan ◽  
Liang Qiu Cheng ◽  
Feng Yi ◽  
Tai Zhong Chen ◽  
Han Sun ◽  
...  

Internal waves will break in the process of communication, the broken will make water in upper and lower mixing, which has significant influence on the hydrodynamic and layered characteristics of density stratification of the water. In order to reveal the propagation of internal solitary waves, a 3d numerical wave flume was built. The research of the propagation of internal solitary waves in the regular topography and broken on slopes was based on FLUENT. Comparing the fragmentation degree of different slope angle and researching the energy dissipation of the wave propagation process , which are supposed to successfully match the results with the experiment results, can provide new methods and means for the further study of internal wave breaking characteristics and the improvement of ecological environment of water bodies.


Author(s):  
C.E Blenkinsopp ◽  
J.R Chaplin

This paper describes detailed measurements and analysis of the time-varying distribution of void fractions in three different breaking waves under laboratory conditions. The measurements were made with highly sensitive optical fibre phase detection probes and document the rapid spatial and temporal evolutions of both the bubble plume generated beneath the free surface and the splashes above. Integral properties of the measured void fraction fields reveal a remarkable degree of similarity between characteristics of the two-phase flow in different breaker types as they evolve with time. Depending on the breaker type, the energy expended in entraining air and generating splash accounts for a minimum of between 6.5 and 14% of the total energy dissipated during wave breaking.


1988 ◽  
Vol 1 (21) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Scott L. Douglass ◽  
J. Richard Weggel

The influence of wind on nearshore breaking waves was investigated in a laboratory wave tank. Breaker location, geometry, and type depended upon the wind acting on the wave as it broke. Onshore winds tended to cause waves to break earlier, in deeper water, and to spill: offshore winds tended to cause waves to break later, in shallower water, and to plunge. A change in wind direction from offshore to onshore increased the surf zone width by up to 100%. Wind's effect was greatest for waves which were near the transition between breaker types in the absence of wind. For onshore winds, it was observed that microscale breaking can initiate spilling breaking by providing a perturbation on the crest of the underlying wave as it shoals.


2015 ◽  
Vol 769 ◽  
pp. 541-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luc Deike ◽  
Stephane Popinet ◽  
W. Kendall Melville

We investigate the influence of capillary effects on wave breaking through direct numerical simulations of the Navier–Stokes equations for a two-phase air–water flow. A parametric study in terms of the Bond number, $\mathit{Bo}$, and the initial wave steepness, ${\it\epsilon}$, is performed at a relatively high Reynolds number. The onset of wave breaking as a function of these two parameters is determined and a phase diagram in terms of $({\it\epsilon},\mathit{Bo})$ is presented that distinguishes between non-breaking gravity waves, parasitic capillaries on a gravity wave, spilling breakers and plunging breakers. At high Bond number, a critical steepness ${\it\epsilon}_{c}$ defines the onset of wave breaking. At low Bond number, the influence of surface tension is quantified through two boundaries separating, first gravity–capillary waves and breakers, and second spilling and plunging breakers; both boundaries scaling as ${\it\epsilon}\sim (1+\mathit{Bo})^{-1/3}$. Finally the wave energy dissipation is estimated for each wave regime and the influence of steepness and surface tension effects on the total wave dissipation is discussed. The breaking parameter $b$ is estimated and is found to be in good agreement with experimental results for breaking waves. Moreover, the enhanced dissipation by parasitic capillaries is consistent with the dissipation due to breaking waves.


Author(s):  
Michael Vigsø ◽  
Christos Georgakis

Abstract Load effects from breaking waves on offshore structures may be a driving point for the design. It is hence important to assess the likelihood of occurrence along the magnitude of the loads in the event of an impact. Traditionally, loads are predicted using wave theory combined with a load model such as the Morison. This paper features an alternative approach in determining the loads from wave breaking. It is demonstrated how the structural response can be used for (indirectly) estimating the magnitude of the loads caused by wave breaking. The theory is applied to an experimental setup in a wave flume, where a flexible model is subjected to loads from breaking waves. The dynamic properties are mapped using operational modal analysis and it is consequently shown that the loads can be identified using the vibration measurements.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 2323-2336
Author(s):  
Juan M. Restrepo ◽  
Jorge M. Ramirez

AbstractMaking use of a Lagrangian description, we interpret the kinematics and analyze the mean transport due to numerically generated transient progressive waves, including breaking waves. The waves are packets and are generated with a boundary-forced, air–water, two-phase Navier–Stokes solver. These transient waves produce transient transport, which can sometimes be larger than what would be estimated using estimates developed for translationally invariant progressive waves. We identify the critical assumption that makes our standard notion of the steady Stokes drift inapplicable to the data and explain how and in what sense the transport due to transient waves can be larger than the steady counterpart. A comprehensive analysis of the data in the Lagrangian framework leads us to conclude that much of the transport can be understood using an irrotational approximation of the velocity, even though the simulations use Navier–Stokes fluid simulations with moderately high Reynolds numbers. Armed with this understanding, it is possible to formulate a simple Lagrangian model that captures the mean transport and variance of transport for a large range of wave amplitudes. For large-amplitude waves, the parcel paths in the neighborhood of the free surface exhibit increased dispersion and lingering transport due to the generation of vorticity. We examined the wave-breaking case. For this case, it is possible to characterize the transport very well, away from the wave boundary layer, and approximately using a simple model that captures the unresolved breaking dynamics via a stochastic parameterization.


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