Effect of Air Fraction on Force Coefficients in Oscillatory Flow

The forces on marine and offshore structures are often affected by spilling breakers. The spilling breaker is characterized by a roller of mixed air and water with a forward speed approximately equal to the wave celerity. This high speed in the top of the wave has the potential to induce high wave loads on upper parts of the structures. This study analyzed the effect of the air content on the forces. The analyses used the Morison equation to examine the effect of the percentage of air on the forces. An experimental set-up was developed to include the injection of air into an otherwise calm water body. The air-injection did introduce a high level a turbulence. It was possible to assess the amount of air content in the water for different amounts of air-injection. In the mixture of air and water the force on an oscillating square cylinder was measured for different levels of air-content, — also in the case without air. The measurements indicated that force coefficients for clear water could be use in the Morison equation as long as the density for water was replaced by the density for the mixture of air and water.

Comparison of Breaking Wave Kinematics From Numerical Simulations With PIV Measurements

Breaking waves have been a popular research area among scientists and engineers since they present a strongly nonlinear and turbulent phenomenon. When these waves encounter an offshore or coastal structure, they exert significant amount of loads and stresses, which may result in a catastrophic consequence. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to study breaking waves and associated phenomena. Inspired by this need, in a recent MARIN experiment kinematics of breaking waves were measured with Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Among different types of breaking waves, spilling breakers were selected in this initial campaign. First, a summary of the measurement results will be given. These results will then be used for validation of a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool. In numerical simulations two methods were followed in order to reproduce the focused wave: in the first method, the CFD tool was coupled to a nonlinear wave model, and in the second method an iterative scheme was used with the CFD tool. Results from these methods were then compared with the measurements.

Non-Linear Wave Runup Along the Side of Ships Causing Green Water Problems: Experiments and First CFD Calculations

Large relative wave motions along the side of a ship can lead to green water on the deck. With a simplified test setup of a thin plate under an angle with the wave direction (to separate non-linear wave run up from motion effects), the non-linear wave reflection along the side of ships is studied in the present paper. These pilot tests with regular and irregular waves gave new insight in the process of non-linear wave run up with plunging and spilling breakers close to the plate. The complex processes observed made clear that linear or second order models will not be able to predict this behavior accurately. Previously [1] it was concluded that CFD methods that allow wave breaking are necessary for a prediction of these important effects. In the present paper a first pilot study is presented with an improved Volume of Fluid (VoF) Method. It is concluded that the method is in principle able to present these relative wave motions, but that a finer gridding is necessary to study the detailed flows.

Shock trains on a planar beach

Following on from the author’s previous work, the propagation of trains of shock waves on a planar beach is studied in the framework of the nonlinear shallow water equations. The analysis is based on the use of a quasi-analytical solution valid for a shock wave which is fed by a constant Riemann invariant. The asymptotic behaviour of a train of such shock waves is inspected and novel approximate analytical solutions are provided. These are useful both for representing fundamental physical scenarios (e.g. propagation of saw-tooth spilling breakers in the surf zone) and for benchmarking wave-resolving and wave-averaged theoretical/numerical solutions. Finally, a study of the energy dissipation induced by the shock train is provided.