The wave transformation and breaking phenomena in shallow water

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Steepness and spectrum of a nonlinearly deformed wave on shallow waters

The process of nonlinear deformation of a surface wave on shallow waters is investigated. The main attention is given to the relationship between the wave Fourier spectrum and the steepness of wave front slope. It is shown that an unambiguous relationship couples these quantities in the case of an initially sinusoidal wave, which allows estimation of the spectral composition of the wave field from the observed wave steepness.     

Validation of the three-wave quasi-kinetic approximation for the spectral evolution in shallow water

This paper aims at validating the three-wave quasi-kinetic approximation for the spectral evolution of weakly nonlinear gravity waves in shallow water. The problem is investigated using a one-dimensional numerical wave propagation model, formulated in the spectral representation. This model includes both a nonlinear triad interactions term and a wave breaking dissipation term. Some numerical tests were carried out in order to show the importance of using the triad nonlinear term in wave propagation spectral models, particularly to describe both behavior of the spectral integral parameters and of the spectral shape evolution in shallow water depth. Furthermore; a comparison against different set of experimental observations was carried out. Comparing the numerical results with the experimental observations made it possible to show the modeling efficiency of the three-wave quasi-kinetic approximation.     

Numerical simulation of wave overtopping of coastal structures using the non-linear shallow water equations

A one-dimensional high-resolution finite volume model capable of simulating storm waves propagating in the coastal surf zone and overtopping a sea wall is presented. The model (AMAZON) is based on solving the non-linear shallow water (NLSW) equations. A modern upwind scheme of the Godunov-type using an HLL approximate Riemann solver is described which captures bore waves in both transcritical and supercritical flows. By employing a finite volume formulation, the method can be implemented on an irregular, structured, boundary-fitted computational mesh. The use of the NLSW equations to model wave overtopping is computationally efficient and practically flexible, though the detailed structure of wave breaking is of course ignored. It is shown that wave overtopping at a vertical wall may also be approximately modelled by representing the wall as a steep bed slope. The AMAZON model solutions have been compared with analytical solutions and laboratory data for wave overtopping at sloping and vertical seawalls and good agreement has been found. The model requires more verification tests for irregular waves before its application as a generic design tool.     

Nonlinear crest distribution for shallow water Stokes waves

This article concerns the calculation of nonlinear crest distribution for shallow water Stokes waves. The calculations have been carried out by incorporating a second order nonlinear wave model into an asymptotic analysis method. This is a new approach to the calculation of wave crest distribution, and, as all of the calculations are performed in the probability domain, avoids the need for long time-domain simulations. The accuracy and efficiency of this new approach for calculating the wave crest distribution are validated by comparing the results predicted using it with those predicted by using the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method, by using a previous Transformed Rayleigh method, by using some existing wave crest distribution formulas, and by using the measured surface elevation data at the Poseidon platform in the Japan Sea.     

Note on the propagation of a shallow water wave in water of variable depth

In this technical note, the phenomena of non-linear water-wave propagation above a seabed with variable depth is re-examined. The conventional Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation is re-derived for the general case of variable water depth. In the new form of KdV equation, the seabed bottom function is included. Two different bottom profiles are considered in this study; case 1: $b^{\prime }\left(x^{\prime }\right)=c\epsilon \sin \lambda x^{\prime }$ and case 2: $b^{\prime }\left(x^{\prime }\right)=c\epsilon {\mathrm{e}}^{-\lambda {\left(x^{\prime }-x_0^{\prime }\right)}^2}$. The effects of three bottom profile parameters, c, λ and ε on the wave profile are examined. Numerical results indicate that both ε and λ affect the wave profile significantly in case 1, while ε significantly affects the wave profile in case 2.     

Statistics of nonlinear wave crests and groups

Groups of large nonlinear waves with sharper higher crests can pose hazards to ships, induce harbor resonance and cause wave-overtopping of fixed and floating structures. Past interest in wave groups has mostly been focused on the statistics and modeling of linear wave groups. Studies on nonlinear wave groups are surprisingly few, and address deep water waves only. Here, statistics of nonlinear wave crests and wave-crest groups in deep and transitional water depths are considered, using an appropriate second-order representation for crest heights and the continuous wave-envelope approach. In particular, theoretical expressions describing the statistics of nonlinear wave crests and their groups are posed in the form of a simple second-order transformation of well-known results on linear waves. Predictions from the transformation so posed compare well with nonlinear wave data gathered in the North Sea, and demonstrate that nonlinearities do affect the statistics of large wave crests and their groups significantly.     

Distribution of nonlinear wave crests

The distribution of nonlinear wave crests is examined on the basis of a theoretical probability density previously given elsewhere (J. Eng. Mech. 120 (1994) 1009). Certain errors contained in the original theoretical density are corrected, and the corresponding exceedance distribution is derived. The resulting theoretical forms of the probability density and exceedance distribution are then slightly simplified and compared with nonlinear wave data gathered under hurricane conditions. The results indicate that the proposed theoretical forms describe the observed distributions of large wave crests better than the Rayleigh law. However, the quantitative accuracy of the predictions is somewhat poor, as is typical of approximate theories based on Gram–Charlier-type expansions.     

The effect of water depth on the performance of a small surging wave energy converter

The effect of water depth on the performance of a small surging wave energy converter (WEC) is investigated analytically, numerically and experimentally. It is shown that although the average annual incident wave power is significantly reduced by water depth, a large proportion of this reduction is due to the dissipation of highly energetic, but largely unexploitable seas. It is also shown that the power capture is related more closely to incident wave force than incident wave power. Experimental results demonstrate that both the surge wave force and power capture of a flap-type WEC increase in shallow water.     

Estimation of wave directional spreading in shallow water

This paper describes wave directional spreading in shallow water. Waves were measured for a period of 2 months using the Datawell directional waverider buoy at 15 m water depth on the east coast of India in the Bay of Bengal. The study also showed that in shallow water wave directional spreading was narrowest at peak frequency and widened towards lower and higher frequencies. The wind direction was found to deviate from the wave direction during most of the time. The unidirectional spectrum was found to be satisfactorily represented by Scott spectra.     

浅水波长计算问题

浅水波周期保持常值,而波长缩减时其计算需进行迭代。提出了两个精度较高的经验公式供计算应用。水深波长比差值ΔLD0的变化规律反映出浅水波长缩减为一复杂过程,并与波能密度加大相关。LD0≤0.14时,特别是LD0=0.056前后,其特征会更加显著,由此可探讨波长变化的内在机理。     

Modelling of a wave energy converter array with a nonlinear power take-off system in the frequency domain

This paper presents a nonlinear frequency domain model and uses this to assess the performance of a wave energy converter (WEC) array with a nonlinear power take-off (PTO). In this model, the nonlinear PTO forces are approximated by a truncated Fourier series, while the dynamics of the WEC array are described by a set of linear motion equations in the frequency domain, and the hydrodynamic coefficients are obtained with the boundary element method. A single heave absorber is firstly investigated to establish the accuracy of the new model in capturing the nonlinear behaviour of the pumping system. Subsequently, simulations of a 2D array with 18 WECs and a pillar in the centre (representing the tower of a wind turbine) are carried out to understand wave interference effects. Several optimisation strategies are proposed to improve the overall performance of the WEC array. These results demonstrate a computationally effective method for accounting for nonlinear effects in large WEC arrays. The proposed approach may potentially be applied for developing control algorithms for the adaptability of a 2D array to incoming wave excitation.     

Generation and propagation of transient nonlinear waves in a wave flume

A semi-analytical nonlinear wavemaker model is derived to predict the generation and propagation of transient nonlinear waves in a wave flume. The solution is very efficient and is achieved by applying eigenfunction expansions and FFT. The model is applied to study the effect of the wavemaker and its motion on the generation and propagation of nonlinear waves. The results indicate that the linear wavemaker theory may be applied to predict only the generation of waves of low steepness for which the nonlinear terms in the kinematic wavemaker boundary condition and free-surface boundary conditions are of secondary importance. For waves of moderate steepness and steep waves these nonlinear terms have substantial effects on wave profile and wave spectrum just after the wavemaker. A wave spectrum corresponding to a sinusoidally moving wavemaker possesses a multi-peak form with substantial nonlinear components, which disturbs or may even exclude physical modeling in wave flumes. The analysis shows that the widely recognized weakly nonlinear wavemaker theory may only be applied to describe the generation and propagation of waves of low steepness. This is subject to further restrictions in shallow and deep waters because the kinematic wavemaker boundary condition as well as the nonlinear interaction of wave components and the evolution of wave energy spectrum is not properly described by weakly nonlinear wavemaker theory. Laboratory experiments were conducted in a wave flume to verify the nonlinear wavemaker model. The comparisons show a reasonable agreement between predicted and measured free-surface elevation and the corresponding amplitudes of Fourier series. A reasonable agreement between theoretical results and experimental data is observed even for fairly steep waves.     

Interactions between nonlinear water waves and non-wall-sided 3D structures

Interactions between water waves and non-wall-sided cylinders are analyzed based on velocity potential theory with fully nonlinear boundary conditions on the free surface and the body surface. The finite element method (FEM) is adopted together with a 3D mesh generated through an extension of a 2D Delaunay grid on a horizontal plane along the depth. The linear matrix equation for the velocity potential is constructed by imposing the governing equation and boundary conditions through the Galerkin method and is solved through an iterative method. By imposing the gradient of the potential equal to the velocity, the Galerkin method is used again to obtain the velocity field in the fluid domain. Simulations are made for bottom mounted and truncated cylinders with flare in a numerical tank. Periodic waves and wave groups are generated by a piston type wave maker mounted on one end of the tank. Results are obtained for forces, wave profiles and wave runups. Further simulations are made for a cylinder with flare subjected to forced motion in otherwise still open water. Results are provided for surge and heave motion in different amplitudes, and for a body moving in a circular path in the horizontal plane. Comparisons are made in several cases with the results obtained from the second order solution in the time domain.     

Efficient computation of surf zone waves using the nonlinear shallow water equations with non-hydrostatic pressure

A numerical method for non-hydrostatic, free-surface, irrotational flow governed by the nonlinear shallow water equations including the effects of vertical acceleration is presented at the aim of studying surf zone phenomena. A vertical boundary-fitted grid is used with the water depth divided into a number of layers. A compact finite difference scheme is employed for accurate computation of frequency dispersion requiring a limited vertical resolution and hence, capable of predicting the onset of wave breaking. A novel wet–dry algorithm is applied for a proper handling of moving shoreline. Mass and momentum are strictly conserved at discrete level while the method only dissipates energy in the case of wave breaking. The numerical results are verified with a number of tests and show that the proposed model using two layers without ad-hoc assumptions enables to resolve propagating nonlinear shoaling, breaking waves and wave run-up within the surf and swash zones in an efficient manner.     

浅水非线性波作用下沙质底床孔隙水压力响应数值分析

近岸水深较浅,波浪具有较强的非线性,海床破坏与波浪作用下孔隙水压力的分布有着密切的关系。波浪场控制方程采用雷诺时均方程和k-ε紊流模型,入射波采用椭圆余弦波,采用PLIC-VOF法追踪自由表面;海床域以Biot动力固结理论为基础,建立了非线性波浪与海床相互作用的弱耦合数学模型,获得椭圆余弦波作用下沙质海床中孔隙水压力响应规律。计算结果表明,与线性波浪相比,浅水非线性波作用下沙质海床中孔隙水压力幅值增大非常显著。     

Simulation of green water flow on deck using non-linear dam breaking theory

Experiments carried out with models of floating production, storage and offloading platforms (FPSOs) showed that the flow of water over the deck edge, onto the deck resembled a suddenly released wall of water rather than a breaking wave. Therefore green water flow onto the deck was simulated using dam breaking theory, but the theory’s shallow-water assumptions may be limiting. In this paper a non-linear dam breaking problem is formulated. Equations of motion in the Lagrangian form are used and the solution is sought as an infinite series in time. Comparisons with the shallow water approximation are carried out.     

Characteristics of breaking irregular wave forces on a monopile

The substructures of offshore wind turbines are subjected to extreme breaking irregular wave forces. The present study is focused on investigating breaking irregular wave forces on a monopile using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based numerical model. The breaking irregular wave forces on a monopile mounted on a slope are investigated with a numerical wave tank. The experimental and numerical irregular free surface elevations are compared in the frequency-domain for the different locations in the vicinity of the cylinder. A numerical analysis is performed for different wave steepness cases to understand the influence of wave steepness on the breaking irregular wave loads. The wave height transformation and energy level evolution during the wave shoaling and wave breaking processes is investigated. The higher-frequency components generated during the wave breaking process are observed to play a significant role in initiating the secondary force peaks. The free surface elevation skewness and spectral bandwidth during the wave transformation process are analysed and an investigation is performed to establish a correlation of these parameters with the breaking irregular wave forces. The role of the horizontal wave-induced water particle velocity at the free surface and free surface pressure in determining the breaking wave loads is highlighted. The higher-frequency components in the velocity and pressure spectrum are observed to be significant in influencing the secondary peaks in the breaking wave force spectrum.     

Experimental evidence of the transition between power law models in the high frequency range of the gravity wave spectrum

The existence of a transition in the slope of the wind-generated gravity wave spectrum from a f⁻⁴ to a f⁻⁵ power law, at a given frequency in the high frequency range, is examined. Evidence of its existence and of the non-uniqueness of the wave spectrum slope in the equilibrium range is presented. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the statistical variability of the spectral estimates makes it difficult to obtain reliable results from limited sets of finite length wave records.     

Effect of shallow and narrow water on added mass of cylinders with various cross-sectional shapes

The sway, heave and roll added masses of three uniform cylinders with semi-circular, rectangular and triangular cross-sectional shapes in shallow and narrow water are numerically analysed. The method is based on simulation of the potential flow induced by the cylinder's mode of motion. The effects of shallow and narrow water on added mass are analysed and presented. It is concluded that the shallow and narrow water effects on added mass depend on the different cross-section shapes of the cylinders. In particular, the water depth effect on sway added mass is stronger than that on heave added mass while the narrow water effect on sway is weaker than that on heave. The shallow water effect on added mass tends to weaken the narrow water effect. Lastly the effect of shallow and narrow water on added mass on a rectangular cylinder is the strongest while that on a triangular cylinder is the weakest.