Numerical Simulation of Oblique Wave in Water Basin

Simulation of more realistic ocean conditions in wave basins is becoming important for offshore industry. As spreading wave has become more desirable, the capability of reproducing oblique planar wave train is critical for a wave basin’s performance. In this study, the oblique waves have been simulated in a numerical wave basin based on the volume of fluid (VOF) method and Navier-Stokes solver. Multi-element bottom hinged flap motion using the conventional snake principle has been simulated by moving boundary dynamic mesh in OpenFOAM. Finite length of the entire wave maker and finite width of each paddle caused considerable spatial variations in wave height and wave propagating direction. Beaches with slope have been implemented to minimize the sidewall reflection and improve the uniformity of the oblique wave field. The generated linear oblique waves have been compared with the analytical solutions for validation in terms of uniformity and wave height. The time history of the surface elevation at different locations have been computed to investigate the uniformities of general wave fields. In addition, the free surface along the wave propagating direction has also been investigated to show the quality of the generated wave.