The significant difference in length scales between the flow around a moving fish net and the flow around each twine of the net prevents the resolution of the complete structure within a discrete fluid domain. In this paper, this issue is overcome by calculating the net and fluid dynamics separately and incorporate their interaction implicitly. The forces on the net are approximated using a screen force model, and the motion of the net is computed with a lumped mass method. Here, a linear system of equations is derived from the dynamic equilibria and kinematic relations. The net model is coupled to the CFD solver REEF3D which solves the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations using high-order finite differences in space and time. Several numerical calculations are provided, and the comparison of loads and velocity reduction with available measurements indicates the good performance of the proposed model.

The purpose of this study is to numerically investigate the bed shear stress and near-bed mixing due to coherent vortex structures in the vicinity of a vertically wall-mounted circular cylinder subject to an imposed finite-depth oscillatory sinusoidal flow. Previous studies reveal that the Keulegan–Carpenter (KC) number influences the formation of lee-side wake vortex structures as well as the horseshoe vortex in front of a cylinder. Therefore, parametric studies in a moderately wide range of KC from 5 to 20 are numerically performed. In the present study, Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) is conducted using the open-source software, OpenFOAM, that solves the three-dimensional unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations using finite volume method. Nondimensional parameters used in the simulations are carefully chosen to represent the real physics. The numerical solutions are first validated using an analytical solution for the oscillating Stokes flow and the results are then systematically and quantitatively compared with the experimental measurements. The results show that the lee-side wake is significantly influenced by KC, and distinctive types of the lee-side wake are generated and classified based on KC. It is also found that both KC and the ratio of the thickness of the Stokes boundary layer to the water depth are heavily associated with the stability of the lee-side wake. In addition, the simulated size and lifespan of the horseshoe vortex agree well with the experimental data.

To develop a ship with higher propulsion performance, accurate estimation method is required. Tthe performance of ships is estimated by both experimental methods using scale models and numerical methods based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) using Reynolds average Navier-Stokes equation (RANS) models. Experiments with scale models have limitations regarding fast execution and cost reduction due to physical constraints, and we believe it is important to improve numerical methods. Adjustment of turbulent models can improve the estimation accuracy of numerical methods, but it is necessary to continuously compare and verify the numerical and experimental results. There is a limit to the improvement of the estimation accuracy of the numerical method with RANS models. Direct numerical simulation (DNS), which can be solved without modeling the turbulence field, can acquire an accurate flow field, but it is difficult to implement because it requires a huge number of grids. In a large eddy simulation (LES) model, if the grid resolution (filter size) is fine, the limitations imposed by the model itself are reduced. LES performed with a sufficiently fine grid resolution may be able to achieve the comparable estimation accuracy as DNS without a high computational load. We considered this method to be promising for accurately estimating ship performance. This is an initial study of a ship performance estimation calculation method using large-scale LES. We performed LES calculations with up to 6.4 billion cells for propeller open water test and obtained basic knowledge about large-scale LES calculations. We carried out calculations with different grid resolutions under the same operating conditions, and with different Reynolds numbers at the same resolution to show how the grid resolution and Reynolds number affect the estimation of propeller performance and flow around the propeller.

Freak waves, abnormally large waves, that occur in the open-ocean can cause significant damage to offshore structures and vessels. In this paper, we attempt to numerically reproduce the experiments of McAllister et al., (2019, J. Fluid Mech. [1]), to investigate the potential properties of the Draupner freak wave [2] in more detail. We use a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method to solve the full-3D Navier-Stokes equations. This Lagrangian method is able to recreate wave breaking, and has the potential to fully reproduce these experiments with the aim of providing further insight into properties of the waves created such as their kinematics and geometry. We compare time histories of water surface elevation produced numerically using four different particle sizes with experimentally-obtained data. We find good agreement in the time domain, with r 2 (coefficient of determination) values between experimental and numerical data of over 0.94 the error in maximum wave height was less than 5 % for the finest particle size (over 100 million particles). We also numerically reproduce wave breaking observed in the experiments, where jet formation and breaking phenomena are qualitatively similar in appearance.

The present study is concerned with predicting the resistance and vertical motions of the surface combatant DTMB5512 ship model in regular head waves. A series of numerical simulations are performed for various wave lengths, heights and different ship speeds. Computations are performed by making use of the ISIS-CFD solver of the commercial software Fine™/Marine provided by NUMECA, where the discretization in space is based on finite volume method using unstructured grid. The unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations are numerically solved while the turbulence is modeled by making use of the k-ω SST model. The free-surface is captured through an air-water interface based on the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method. Computed results are validated through direct comparisons with the experimental data provided by IIHR test cases. For the sake of numerical results verification, a grid convergence study is performed on four computational grids and a time step convergence test is also included. Validation of the numerical results shows a reasonable agreement with the experimental data.

In this paper, we conducted a three-dimensional investigation of flow past a cylinder undergoing forced oscillation. The flow configuration is similar to the work of Blackburn & Henderson (1999) [1], in which Reynolds number equals to 500 and a fixed motion amplitude of A/D = 0.25. The oscillation frequencies are varied in the range near to the natural shedding frequency of a stationary cylinder. The flow dynamics are governed by Navier-Stokes equations and the solutions are obtained by employing high-order spectral/hp element method. It is found that the flow dynamics are significantly distinguished from the study of two-dimensional flow by Blackburn & Henderson (1999) [1]. The values of hydrodynamic forces are smaller compared to that in the two-dimensional study. However, lock-in boundary we identified is broader. In addition, a different type of hysteresis loop of energy transfer coefficient is obtained.

Water wave propagation over shallowly submerged structures is of much interest in the context of submerged wave energy devices, breakwaters or barrier reefs. This work examines waves passing over a two-dimensional shallowly submerged fixed step extending to the seabed. The problem has been modelled in CFD using the open source toolbox OpenFoam utilising the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations. These simulations are compared to experimental work from a previous study as means of validation and extended to larger amplitude waves for a single incident wave frequency. The flow over the step is characterised and examined in the context of developing an efficient hybrid numerical model for the problem.

An analysis of the flow and of the vertical transfer of the horizontal momentum induced by the breaking of modulated wave trains in wind and no-wind conditions is presented. The study is based on the results of two-dimensional numerical simulation of the Navier-Stokes equations for two-phase flow. The open source Gerris flow solver has been used, which employs a Volume of Fluid technique to capture the air-water interface. The breaking is induced through the Benjamin-Feir instability mechanism. The numerical simulations cover the entire range from the initial development of the instability, the breaking phase and the post-breaking evolution. In order to investigate the role played by the wind, a uniform wind profile, twice the phase speed, is initialized in the air phase and it is left to evolve while interacting with the wave system. Results in terms of averaged horizontal velocity and vertical flux of horizontal momentum are presented. It is shown that in the wind case the backward stresses induced at the wave troughs as a consequence of the flow separation at the crest influence significantly the flow in the upper water layer, particularly in the pre-breaking phase. No substantial differences are found between the wind and no-wind solutions in terms of the vertical transfer of horizontal momentum in the lower water layer. The vertical flux of horizontal momentum in air is consistent with the velocity reduction occurring in the wind case in the early stage.

Wave energy is sustainable and clean energy, so it has great potential to be an eco-friendly and lasting renewable energy resource in the future. Recently, a number of researchers have investigated different types of wave energy converters (WECs) using numerical models such as potential theory and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to enhance the efficiency of such devices. In this paper, a validation of a point absorber type WECs is investigated to capture the movement of the WEC system and to measure the moment on the WEC system. The WEC consists of a lever and a buoy. The geometry is the same as the existing experimental geometry of the reference in order to validate the present numerical simulation. The buoy is connected to the lever and has a hinge on the connection point. Besides, another hinge is installed in the middle of the lever, and the WEC system rotates in the pitch direction. The commercial CFD package Star-CCM+, which solves Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations, is employed in this study. In the initial stages of this research, a validation study against published experimental results was conducted. The rotational displacement and the moment on the buoy were compared with the existing experimental data of the reference. The result shows good agreement. In the near future, a study on a new pivoted point absorber WEC device regarding the buoy shape of the WEC device and an operation principle will be performed based on this numerical study.

Most existing research related to a semi-submersible offshore floating platform focuses on the wave-structure interaction under either a regular or irregular wave condition. In order to numerically model the irregular wave impact on a semi-submersible platform hydrodynamic response with a low computational cost, in this study, a focused wave is utilized. The platform under this consideration is the DeepCwind semi-submersible platform. A high fidelity CFD numerical solver based on solving Navier-Stokes equations is adopted to estimate the dynamic response and the hydrodynamic loading of the platform. The focused wave is firstly generated based on a first order irregular wave theory in a numerical wave tank and validated against the linear wave theory results. Next, for CFD coding validation, the surface elevation of a fixed FPSO model associated with a focused wave is calculated and compared with the benchmark results. At last, the dynamic responses of the platform are numerically simulated under various focused wave parameters, and the results are compared with those obtained from an in-house potential flow theory tool at Électricité de France (EDF). It is found that the predicted CFD surge motion responses are close to those achieved with the second order potential theory while differ from the results obtained using linear potential theory. As to the pitch motion, differences are observed between two results, due to the different methods used for second order loads and viscous effects calculation. Turning to the results under different wave parameters, the surge and heave motion responses increase as the wave period goes up. However, the pitch motion is not affected significantly by varying wave periods. It may be due to the fact that the low-frequency effects have limited impact on the pitch motion. The strong nonlinearity at extremely large wave amplitude will be the task in our near future study.

Bores generated by dam-break and initial mound of water and their propagation over horizontal and inclined surfaces are studied by use of theoretical approaches. Calculations are carried out in two and three dimensions and particular attention is given to the bore impact on horizontal and vertical surfaces. Downstream of the initial mound of water may be wet or dry. Discussion is provided on the influence of the downstream water on the bore behaviour and impact. Three methods are used in this study, namely the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations (RANS), the Green-Naghdi (GN) equations and Saint Venant equations (SV). The governing equations subject to appropriate boundary conditions are solved with various numerical techniques. Results of these models are compared with each other, and with laboratory experiments when available. Discussion is given on the limitations and applicability of these models to study the bore generation, propagation and pressure on horizontal and vertical surfaces. It is found that the GN equations compare well with the RANS equations, while the SV equations have substantially simplified the solution.

Numerical modelling of wave interaction with offshore structures provides deep insights into the complex wave hydrodynamics and the wave-structure interaction problem. Offshore structures such as an FPSO vessel are susceptible to continuous wave loading under operational conditions and catastrophically large wave loadings under extreme conditions. It is essential to obtain accurate information on the environmental forcing due to waves on an FPSO to reliably predict the operational conditions to optimise the operational times while considering operational safety. In addition, the wave hydrodynamics involved under extreme wave conditions also have to be evaluated in order to predict the survivability of the vessel and avoid major accidents at sea. In the current study, the open-source hydrodynamic model REEF3D is used to study the wave interaction with an FPSO structure. The numerical results are compared to available experimental data for the free surface around the structure, the pressure due to wave incidence and the motion of the structure. The wave interaction with the structure is studied for a fixed structure and considering the six degrees-of-freedom for a floating object. Different incident waves are simulated including irregular waves using the JONSWAP spectrum and phase-focussed irregular waves. The model solves the incompressible Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with high-order discretization schemes for convection and time discretization. The local directional immersed boundary ghost cell method extended to three dimensions is used to represent the boundaries of complex objects. The level set method is used to obtain a sharp free surface. The Poisson pressure equation is solved using the multi-grid preconditioned BiCGStab algorithm provided by the Hypre high performance solver library. The numerical model is fully parallelised using the MPI library.

Direct numerical simulation (DNS), based on solution of the Navier Stokes equations, is used to study the characteristics of the transformation of monochromatic waves over a simplified fringing reef, including wave shoaling, and wave breaking that occurs under certain circumstances. The reef geometry involves a sloped plane beach extended with a simple submerged horizontal reef flat. The characteristics are studied for several case studies involving a selection of submergence depths on the reef flat and for a range of incident wave conditions, corresponding to nonbreaking, a spilling breaker and a plunging breaker, are considered. The results are compared with those of laboratory experiments (Kouvaras and Dhanak, 2018). Consistent with other studies, generation of harmonics of the fundamental wave frequency is found to accompany the wave transformation over the reef and the process of transfer of energy through wave breaking. The energy flux decreases dramatically in the onshore direction when the waves break. The more severe the wave breaking process, the greater the decrease in energy flux, particularly in the wave shoaling process. Most of the wave energy is carried by the first harmonic throughout its passage over the fringing reef. In nonbreaking waves, the energy gradually transfers from the first harmonic to the second harmonic due to bottom effects in terms of flat wave troughs and secondary waves. The further the distance away from the fore edge of the reef, the larger the percentage of the transmission, resulting in a single dominant harmonic frequency at the end of the wave surfing zone. For breaking waves, the energy carried by the first harmonic gradually decreases in the onshore direction. Energy transmission between harmonics is not as efficient as nonbreaking waves, while wave dissipation is significant in the wave breaking process.

The effect of wedge angle at a constant submerged volume for a plunger type wave maker on the wave height, wave amplitude ratio and the quality of generated wave is studied numerically for a range of linear wave conditions in this research. The commercial ANSYS-FLUENT finite volume code is used to solve the Navier-Stokes equations using dynamic meshes and a Volume of Fluid (VOF) scheme is used to capture the air-water interface. A second order upwind numerical scheme is used to discretize the convective terms of the momentum equations and the standard SIMPLE algorithm is used for coupling the pressure and velocity based equations. At first the plunger-type wedge shaped wave-maker of Wang is considered numerically for the conditions used in his experiments, over a range of linear wave conditions (H/λ less than or equal to 0.03). After validating the numerical method, the effect of plunger wedge angle on the quality of the generated waves and on the power which is needed to run the wave maker are investigated. From these results, we conclude that the quality of the generated waves reduces with increasing wedge angle, when the submerged volume is fixed.

Mixing in pipe junctions can play an important role in exciting force and distribution of flow in pipe network. This paper investigated the cross pipe junction and proposed an improved plan, Y-shaped pipe junction. The numerical study of a three-dimensional pipe junction was performed for calculation and improved understanding of flow feature in pipe. The filtered Navier–Stokes equations were used to perform the large-eddy simulation of the unsteady incompressible flow in pipe. From the analysis of these results, it clearly appears that the vortex strength and velocity non-uniformity of centerline, can be reduced by Y-shaped junction. The Y-shaped junction not only has better flow characteristic, but also reduces head loss and exciting force. The results of the three-dimensional improvement analysis of junction can be used in the design of pipe network for industry.

For the estimation of wave loads on offshore structures, relevant extreme wave events need to be identified. In order to achieve this, long term wave simulations of relatively large scales need to be performed. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based Numerical Wave Tanks (NWT) with an interface capturing two-phase flow approach typically require too large computational resources to achieve this efficiently. They are more suitable for the near-field hydrodynamics of steep and breaking wave impacts on the structures. In the current paper, a three-dimensional non-hydrostatic wave model is presented. While it also solves the Navier-Stokes equations, it employs an interface tracking method for the calculation of the free surface location. The algorithm for the simulation of the free surface is based on the continuity of the horizontal velocities along the vertical water column. With this approach, relatively fewer cells are needed in the vicinity of the air-water interface compared to CFD based NWTs. With coarser grids and larger time steps, the wave propagation can be accurately predicted. The numerical model solves the governing equations on an rectilinear grid, which allows for the employment of high-order finite differences. For time stepping, a fractional step method with implicit treatment of the diffusion terms is employed. The projection method is used for the calculation of the non-hydrostatic pressure. The resulting Poisson equation is solved with Hypres geometric multigrid preconditioned conjugated gradient algorithm. The numerical model is parallelized following the domain decomposition strategy and MPI communication between the individual processors. In the current paper, the capabilities of the new wave model are presented by comparing the wave propagation in the tank with the CFD approach in a 2D simulation. Further, a 3D simulation is carried out to determine the wave forces on a vertical cylinder. The calculated wave forces using the new approach is compared to that obtained using the CFD approach and experimental data. It is seen that the new approach provides a similar accuracy to that from the CFD approach while providing a large reduction in the time taken for the simulation. The gain is calculated to be about 4.5 for the 2D simulation and about 7.1 for the 3D simulation.

The problem of Vortex-Induced Vibrations (VIV) on spool and jumper geometries is known to present several drawbacks when approached with conventional engineering tools used in the study of VIV on risers. Current recommended practices can lead to over-conservatism that the industry needs to quantify and minimize within notably cost reduction objectives. Within this purpose, the paper will present a brief critical review of the Industry standards and more particularly focus on both experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) approaches. Both qualitative and quantitative comparisons between basin tests and CFD results for a 2D ‘M-shape’ spool model will be detailed. The results presented here are part of a larger experimental and numerical campaign which considered a number of current velocities, heading and geometry configurations. The vibratory response of the model will be investigated for one of the current velocities and compared with the results obtained through recommended practices (e.g. Shear7 and DNV guidelines). The strategy used by the software K-FSI to solve the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problem is a partitioned coupling solver between fluid solver (FINE™/Marine) and structural solvers (ARA). FINE™/Marine solves the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations in a conservative way via the finite volume method and can work on structured or unstructured meshes with arbitrary polyhedrons, while ARA is a nonlinear finite element solver with a large displacement formulation. The experiments were conducted in the BGO FIRST facility located in La Seyne sur Mer, France. Particular attention was paid towards the model design, fabrication, instrumentation and characterization, to ensure an excellent agreement between the structural numerical model and the actual physical model. This included the use of a material with low structural damping, the performance of stiffness and decay tests in air and in still water, plus the rationalization of the instrumentation to be able to capture the response with the minimum flow perturbation or interaction due to instrumentation.

Freak wave is an unexpectedly large wave in ocean with extreme height and abnormal shape. The viscous effect is important in prediction of the flow patterns of the freak wave due to its strong nonlinearity. Thus, compared with the potential theory, more accurate information of flow field of the freak wave can be obtained by using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. In laboratory test and numerical study, the focused wave is often adopted to substitute the freak wave in real sea. In this paper, we present a high accurate numerical model for large eddy simulation of the focused wave. In this model, the space filtered Navier-Stokes equations are solved on non-staggered grids by the finite volume. The fourth order compact scheme is adopted for discretization of both convection and diffusion terms of the governing equations. The standard fourth-order Runge-Kutta method is used for time advancement. The velocity-pressure coupling is ensured at each stage and the discretized equations are solved by strongly implicit procedure (SIP) method. The turbulence is simulated by the Smagorinsky model while the free surface is captured by using of the volume of fluid (VOF) method. The model is firstly validated by simulation of the cavity flow and linear wave. The simulation results are compared with theoretical values and published results, respectively. Finally, large eddy simulation of focused wave is presented. The comparison of the numerical results and measured data reveals that the proposed model is capable of reproducing the propagation and evolution of the focused wave.

Simulations of propeller E1619 of two models with different scales are presented using an in-house numerical code based on the solution of the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations for the purpose of analyzing the scale effect on propellers. Propeller open water performance at given advance coefficient was obtained and compared against experimental data, showing good agreement. In aspect of CFD results, scale effect is not obvious. ITTC’78 Performance Prediction Method is applied to correct both experimental and computational open water performance of model 1. Computational K T of model 2 and corrected K T of model 1 agrees well, but the difference between computational K Q of model 2 and corrected K Q of model 1 is not neglectable. The locations of the tip vortex core of the two models are similar to each other, and so is the pressure and fluid velocity distribution. The absolute value of pressure on the blades of the smaller model is higher than the bigger model. The fluid axial velocity around the smaller model is higher than the bigger model.

A three-dimensional hydrodynamic and control model to simulate tethered underwater robot system is proposed. The fluid motion around the moving robot main body with running control ducted propellers is governed by Navier-Stokes equations, and multiple sliding mesh technique is applied to solve the governing equations. The governing equation of umbilical cable connected to the robot is based on the Ablow and Schechter method. The six-degrees-of-freedom equations of motion for underwater vehicle simulations proposed by Gertler and Hargen are adopted to estimate the hydrodynamic performance of the underwater robot. In the model, the feed-forward control algorithm is applied to adjust the length of the umbilical cable according to the robot trajectory control target, the incremental PID control algorithm is adopt to regulate the rotating speeds of the ducted propellers producing appropriate thrusts for the robot control. With the proposed hydrodynamic and control model, hydrodynamic behaviors of the robot under definite trajectory control manipulations are observed numerically. The numerical results of robot trajectory control simulations indicate that the feed-forward control algorithm for adjusting the length of the umbilical cable, and the incremental PID control algorithm for regulating the rotating speeds of the propellers are feasible and effective, the adjusting the length of the umbilical cable with feed-forward control technique is largely responsible for the vertical trajectory control to the robot, while regulating the rotating speeds of the propellers by the PID control algorithm play a leading role in the horizontal trajectory manipulation, the deviation between the designated trajectory and the control one at each time step is acceptable.