Efficient Computations of Fully-Nonlinear Wave Interactions With Floating Structures

We consider the problem of fully nonlinear three-dimensional wave interactions with floating bodies with or without a forward speed. A highly efficient time-domain computational method is developed in the context of potential flow formulation using the pre-corrected Fast Fourier Transform (PFFT) algorithm based on a high-order boundary element method. The method reduces the computational effort in solving the boundary-value problem at each time step to O(NlnN) from O(N^2∼3) of the classical boundary element methods, where N is the total number of unknowns. The high efficiency of this method allows accurate computations of fully-nonlinear hydrodynamic loads, wave runups, and motions of surface vessels and marine structures in rough seas. We apply this method to study the hydrodynamics of floating objects with a focus on the understanding of fully nonlinear effects in the presence of extreme waves and large-amplitude body motions.