An efficient curvilinear non-hydrostatic model for simulating surface water waves

• Published in: International journal for numerical methods in fluids Vol. 66; no. 9; pp. 1093 - 1115
• Main Authors: Choi, Doo Yong, Wu, Chin H., Young, Chih-Chieh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 30.07.2011; Wiley
• Subjects: Computational methods in fluid dynamics; curvilinear model; diffraction; dispersion; Exact sciences and technology; Fluid dynamics; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Hydrodynamic waves; non-hydrostatic; Physics; reflection; runup; runup, diffraction; Water; Curvilinear coordinates; Wave diffraction; Dispersion (wave); diffraction; non-hydrostatic; reflection; Digital simulation; Circular pipe; Fractional step method; Cnoidal wave; Wave reflection; Wave propagation; Circular cylinder; Free surface flow; Modelling; runup; dispersion; curvilinear model
• ISSN: 0271-2091; 1097-0363
• DOI: 10.1002/fld.2302

An efficient curvilinear non‐hydrostatic free surface model is developed to simulate surface water waves in horizontally curved boundaries. The generalized curvilinear governing equations are solved by a fractional step method on a rectangular transformed domain. Of importance is to employ a higher order (either quadratic or cubic spline function) integral method for the top‐layer non‐hydrostatic pressure under a staggered grid framework. Model accuracy and efficiency, in terms of required vertical layers, are critically examined on a linear progressive wave case. The model is then applied to simulate waves propagating in a canal with variable widths, cnoidal wave runup around a circular cylinder, and three‐dimensional wave transformation in a circular channel. Overall the results show that the curvilinear non‐hydrostatic model using a few, e.g. 2–4, vertical layers is capable of simulating wave dispersion, diffraction, and reflection due to curved sidewalls. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.