A three-dimensional coupled numerical model of nonlinear waves in a harbor

Abstract

A 3-D time-domain numerical coupled model for nonlinear waves acting on a ship in a harbor has been developed in the present study. The whole domain is divided into the inner domain and the outer domain. The inner domain is the area around the ship, where the flow is expressed by the Laplace equation and numerically solved by the finite element method. The other area is the outer domain, where the flow is described by the higher-order Boussinesq equations and numerically solved by the finite difference method. The matching conditions on the interfaces between the inner domain and the outer domain, the procedure of coupled solution, the length of common domain and the mesh generation in the inner domain are discussed in detail. The other coupled model with the flow in the inner domain governed by the simplified linear Euler equations and relevant physical experiment are adopted to validate the present coupled model, and it is shown that the numerical results of the present model agree with the experimental data, so the present model can be used for the study on the effect of nonlinear waves acting on a fixed ship in a large area and provide a reference for the time-domain simulation of nonlinear wave forces on an arbitrary object in a large harbor and the 3-D district computation in the future. © 2008 Science in China Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH.