scholarly journals Generation of Offshore Environments in the Numerical Wave Tank to Model Metocean Conditions Interaction with Offshore Structure Near the Free Surface

2021 ◽  
Vol 945 (1) ◽  
pp. 012018
Author(s):  
Mushtaq Ahmed ◽  
Zafarullah Nizamani ◽  
Akihiko Nakayama ◽  
Montasir Osman
Keyword(s):  
Free Surface ◽  
Offshore Structures ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Wave Crest ◽  
Extreme Conditions ◽  
Numerical Wave Tank ◽  
Offshore Structure ◽  
Wave Tank ◽  
Numerical Wave ◽  
Operating Wave

Abstract Offshore structures play a vital role in the economy of offshore oil-producing countries, where mostly fixed jacket type structures are used to produce oil and gas installed in shallow water. In an offshore environment where structures are installed, there exist met ocean forces such as wind, waves, and currents. These met ocean conditions when interacting with offshore structures near the free surface, generate loads. The estimation of such loads is very much important for the proper design of these structures. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the interaction of waves with a jacket platform by generating offshore environments in the numerical wave tank (NWT). To achieve this goal, ANSYS Fluent is used for the flow analysis by using continuity and Navier Stokes equation. Results are verified and validated with the analytical work. Wave crests under operating condition generate a force of 1.3 MN which is the lowest in magnitude as compared to wave crest which produces 4.5 MN force under extreme conditions. Unlike operating wave crest, the operating wave trough generates a higher force of 1 MN than extreme conditions which account for 1.5 MN forces. Forces produced by the extreme offshore environment are 30% higher than those generated under operating conditions. It is concluded from the results that a positive force is exerted onto the structure during the water entry phase while a negative force is observed when the water leaves the structure.

Analysis of Wave Interaction With Cylinders Using a 3D Numerical Wave Tank

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun Kamath ◽  
Hans Bihs ◽  
Øivind A. Arntsen
Keyword(s):  
Free Surface ◽  
Numerical Model ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Total Force ◽  
Numerical Wave Tank ◽  
Offshore Structure ◽  
Wave Tank ◽  
Computational Performance ◽  
Numerical Wave

Evaluation of flow around a cylinder placed in waves is a challenging task due to the complex nature of the flow. A good understanding of the flow physics involved here is important as coastal and offshore structures consist of horizontal and vertical cylindrical elements. This paper explores the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to evaluate the flow field around cylindrical structures. A 3D numerical wave tank is employed to study the free surface and fluid velocities around a vertical cylinder placed in waves and the total force acting on the cylinder is evaluated. The numerical results are compared with experimental data. Further, a simple representation of an offshore structure modelled as multiple cylinders in proximity is also simulated in the numerical wave tank. The presence of neighbouring cylinders has an effect on the flow field. This affects the force acting on each of the cylinders in the group. The forces acting on every cylinder in the group are evaluated and the free surface elevation in the flow field is also visualised. The numerical result is compared with the result from an analytical formula. The numerical model uses the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations to evaluate the flow field. The convective terms are discretized using a 5th-order conservative finite difference WENO scheme. Time discretization is carried out using a 3rd-order Runge-Kutta scheme. Pressure discretization is carried out using Chorin’s projection method. The Poisson pressure equation is solved using a pre-conditioned BiCGStab algorithm. A sharp representation of the free surface is obtained using the level set method. Turbulence modeling is carried out using the k-ω model. Computational performance of the numerical model is improved by parallel processing using the MPI library.

Numerical Investigation of Focused Waves and Their Interaction With a Vertical Cylinder Using REEF3D

2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Bihs ◽  
Mayilvahanan Alagan Chella ◽  
Arun Kamath ◽  
Øivind Asgeir Arntsen
Keyword(s):  
Free Surface ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Free Surface Flows ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Numerical Wave Tank ◽  
Free Surface Elevation ◽  
Wave Tank ◽  
Numerical Wave ◽  
Focused Wave ◽  
The Impact

For the stability of offshore structures, such as offshore wind foundations, extreme wave conditions need to be taken into account. Waves from extreme events are critical from the design perspective. In a numerical wave tank, extreme waves can be modeled using focused waves. Here, linear waves are generated from a wave spectrum. The wave crests of the generated waves coincide at a preselected location and time. Focused wave generation is implemented in the numerical wave tank module of REEF3D, which has been extensively and successfully tested for various wave hydrodynamics and wave–structure interaction problems in particular and for free surface flows in general. The open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code REEF3D solves the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations on a staggered Cartesian grid. Higher order numerical schemes are used for time and spatial discretization. For the interface capturing, the level set method is selected. In order to test the generated waves, the time series of the free surface elevation are compared with experimental benchmark cases. The numerically simulated free surface elevation shows good agreement with experimental data. In further computations, the impact of the focused waves on a vertical circular cylinder is investigated. A breaking focused wave is simulated and the associated kinematics is investigated. Free surface flow features during the interaction of nonbreaking focused waves with a cylinder and during the breaking process of a focused wave are also investigated along with the numerically captured free surface.

Prediction of Wave Crest and Height Distributions and Wave Groups Using a Numerical Wave Tank

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Schmittner ◽  
Sascha Kosleck ◽  
Janou Hennig
Keyword(s):  
Current Model ◽  
Power Spectra ◽  
Distribution Functions ◽  
Wave Crest ◽  
Numerical Wave Tank ◽  
Wave Tank ◽  
Wave Measurements ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Wave Basin ◽  
Numerical Wave

A major goal in current model test practice is the correct modeling of the environmental conditions, as they denote the starting point for all further hydrodynamic analyses. As a standard, wave power spectra are calibrated prior to the actual model tests whereas the corresponding wave group spectra follow from the arbitrarily chosen wave seeds and are not being predicted in advance. Wave crest and height distributions can be determined from the measured wave time traces at different reference locations in the basin but they are not calibrated purposely either. In this paper, a numerical wave tank based on a boundary element method is used to predict wave time traces measured in the wave basin. Resulting wave crest and height distributions are compared with theoretical distribution functions and wave measurements in MARIN’s Offshore Basin. Some thoughts on a possible application to the generation of “deterministic wave seeds” conclude the paper.

Development of 3-Dimensional Fully Nonlinear Potential Flow Planar Wave Tank in Framework of OpenFOAM

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaibin Lin ◽  
Ling Qian ◽  
Wei Bai ◽  
Zhihua Ma ◽  
Hao Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Free Surface ◽  
Potential Flow ◽  
Wave Structure ◽  
Wave Model ◽  
Numerical Wave Tank ◽  
Wave Tank ◽  
Fully Nonlinear ◽  
3 Dimensional ◽  
Nonlinear Potential ◽  
Numerical Wave

Abstract A 3-Dimensional numerical wave tank based on the fully nonlinear potential flow theory has been developed in OpenFOAM, where the Laplace equation of velocity potential is discretized by Finite Volume Method. The water surface is tracked by the semi-Eulerian-Lagrangian method, where water particles on the free surface are allowed to move vertically only. The incident wave is generated by specifying velocity profiles at inlet boundary with a ramp function at the beginning of simulation to prevent initial transient disturbance. Additionally, an artificial damping zone is located at the end of wave tank to sufficiently absorb the outgoing waves before reaching downstream boundary. A five-point smoothing technique is applied at the free surface to eliminate the saw-tooth instability. The proposed wave model is validated against theoretical results and experimental data. The developed solver could be coupled with multiphase Navier-Stokes solvers in OpenFOAM in the future to establish an integrated versatile numerical wave tank for studying efficiently wave structure interaction problems.

Development of 3-D Numerical Wave Tank and Applications on Comb-Type Breakwater

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuo Fang ◽  
Liang Cheng ◽  
Ningchuan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Offshore Structures ◽  
Wave Generation ◽  
Irregular Waves ◽  
Secondary Wave ◽  
Wave Forces ◽  
Numerical Wave Tank ◽  
Wave Reflections ◽  
Wave Tank ◽  
Numerical Wave ◽  
Source Wave

In this study, a 3-D numerical wave tank is developed, based on a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package (FLUENT) to predict wave forces on coastal and offshore structures. A source wave-generation method is introduced to FLUENT through user-defined functions to generate incident waves. Spongy layers are used on both upstream and downstream sides of the wave tank to reduce the effects of wave reflections and secondary wave reflections. Various wave trains, such as linear monochromatic waves, second order Stokes waves and irregular waves were generated by using different source functions. It is demonstrated through numerical examples that the source wave-generation method can accurately generate not only small amplitude waves but also nonlinear waves. The present numerical wave tank is validated against standing waves in front of a vertical breakwater. Interactions between waves and a comb-type breakwater are simulated using the present model. The numerical results are compared with physical experimental results. It is found that the present numerical wave tank simulated the wave and breakwater interactions well.

scholarly journals A Semi-Infinite Numerical Wave Tank Using Discrete Particle Simulations

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangmin Lee ◽  
Jung-Wuk Hong
Keyword(s):  
Wave Height ◽  
Numerical Technique ◽  
Analytical Formula ◽  
Offshore Structures ◽  
Wave Steepness ◽  
Numerical Wave Tank ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Wave Tank ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Numerical Wave

With an increasing number of offshore structures for marine renewable energy, various experimental and numerical approaches have been performed to investigate the interaction of waves and structures to ensure the safety of the offshore structures. However, it has been very expensive to carry out real-scale large experiments and simulations. In this study, numerical waves with various relative depths and a wide range of wave steepness are precisely simulated by minimizing the wave reflection with a mass-weighted damping zone located at the end of a numerical wave tank (NWT). To achieve computational efficiency, optimal variables including initial spacing of smoothed particles, calculation time step, and damping coefficients are studied, and the numerical results are verified by comparison with both experimental data and analytical formula, in terms of wave height, particle velocities, and wave height-to-stroke ratio. Those results show good agreement for all wave steepness smaller than 0.067. By applying the proposed methodology, it is allowed to use a numerical wave tank of which the length is smaller than that of the wave tank used for experiments. The developed numerical technique can be used for the safety analysis of offshore structures through the simulation of fluid-structure interaction.

A Nonlinear Numerical Wave Tank and its Applications

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Sun ◽  
Odd M. Faltinsen
Keyword(s):  
Free Surface ◽  
Horizontal Cylinder ◽  
The Body ◽  
Numerical Wave Tank ◽  
Wave Tank ◽  
Fully Nonlinear ◽  
Reflected Waves ◽  
Numerical Wave ◽  
Nonlinear Free Surface ◽  
Numerical Beach

A two-dimensional fully nonlinear numerical wave tank is developed by using a boundary element method (BEM). The water depth can be shallow or deep. The waves are generated by simulating a piston wave maker or by specifying the input velocity at the upstream boundary. Fully nonlinear free surface conditions are satisfied in the numerical simulations. In the downstream region, a numerical beach is employed to dissipate the wave energy to avoid waves reflecting from the vertical downstream boundary. When there is a body piercing the free surface, another numerical beach is applied upstream the body to damp out only the reflected waves from the body. Two different applications are presented in this paper. The first one is to compute the pressure and velocity at any point inside the wave field. The other application is to calculate the forces on a horizontal cylinder fixed on the free surface. This second application is related to the investigation of the hydrodynamic forces on the pontoon of a fish farm. Nonlinearities are significant since the wave amplitudes can be large relative to the wavelength and the dimension of the cylinder.

scholarly journals Validation of Numerical Wave Tank Simulations Using REEF3D With JONSWAP Spectra in Intermediate Water Depth

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Csaba Pakozdi ◽  
Sebastien Fouques ◽  
Maxime Thys ◽  
Arun Kamath ◽  
Weizhi Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Test Data ◽  
Model Test ◽  
Water Depth ◽  
Model Tests ◽  
Irregular Waves ◽  
Wave Crest ◽  
Intermediate Water ◽  
Numerical Wave Tank ◽  
Wave Tank ◽  
Numerical Wave

Abstract As offshore wind turbines increase in size and output, the support structures are also growing. More sophisticated assessment of the hydrodynamic loads is needed, particularly for the ultimate limit state design. For higher-order phenomena related to rare steep wave events such as ringing, a better understanding of the stochastic loads is needed. As an innovative step forward to reduce the cost of extensive model tests with irregular waves, a larger number of investigations can be carried out using high-performance high-fidelity numerical simulations after an initial stochastic validation with model test data. In this paper, the open-source hydrodynamic model REEF3D::FNPF (Fully Nonlinear Potential Flow) is used to carry out three-hour long simulations with the JONSWAP spectrum in intermediate water depth conditions. Statistical properties of the free surface elevation in the numerical wave tank are validated using the available data from model tests carried out at SINTEF Ocean/NTNU. The spectral shape, significant wave height, peak period, skewness, kurtosis, and wave crest height statistics are compared. The results are analyzed and it is found that the numerical model provides reasonably good agreement with the model test data.

Benchmarking of a Computational Fluid Dynamics-Based Numerical Wave Tank for Studying Wave Load Effects on Fixed and Floating Offshore Structures

2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Nematbakhsh ◽  
Zhen Gao ◽  
Torgeir Moan
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Offshore Structures ◽  
Numerical Results ◽  
Wave Loads ◽  
Numerical Wave Tank ◽  
Wave Load ◽  
Wave Tank ◽  
Load Effects ◽  
Numerical Wave

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based numerical wave tank (NWT) is developed and verified to study wave load effects on fixed and free floating offshore structures. The model is based on solving Navier–Stokes equations on a structured grid, level set method for tracking the free surface, and an immersed boundary method for studying wave–structure interaction. This paper deals with establishing and verifying a CFD-based NWT. Various concerns that arise during this establishment are discussed, namely effects of wave reflection which might affect the structure response, damping of waves in downstream, and three-dimensional (3D) effects of the waves. A method is described and verified to predict the time when incoming waves from wave generator are affected by reflecting waves from the structure which can help in better designing the dimensions of NWT. The model is then used to study sway, heave, and roll responses of a floating barge which is nonuniform in density and limited in sway direction by a spring and damper. Also, it is used to study wave loads on a fixed, large diameter, surface piercing circular cylinder. The numerical results are compared with the experimental and other numerical results, and in general very good agreement is observed in all range of studied wave frequencies. It is shown that for the studied fixed cylinder, the Morison equation leads to promising results for wavelength to diameter ratio larger than 2π (kD < 1), while for shorter wavelengths results in considerable over prediction of wave loads, due to simplification of wave diffraction effects.

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