Validation of a piston type wave-maker using Numerical Wave Tank

Abstract Commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code ANSYS – CFX which solves the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations (RANSE) is used to simulate waves in a 3D Numerical Wave Tank (NWT). The free surface is captured using Volume of Fluid (VOF) method. The numerical code to generate waves in NWT is first validated against experimental data to check the accuracy and robustness of the code. The experimental setup included a turbine and as such the initial numerical code was validated by comparing the wave height and the performance of the turbine against the experimental data. The initial numerical results show good agreement with the experimental data. Later an actual NWT is constructed to generate desired wave climate based on field measurements at a site in Fiji. The CFD results show very good agreement with field measured wave height of 1.23 m and field measured wave power of 9.81 kW/m. The CFD results were also verified with analytical solutions. The difference in the results is within 3% highlighting the validity of the CFD code which can further be extended to investigate other phenomena.

[1]  David Ingram,et al.  Hydrodynamics and absorption efficiencies of wavemakers , 2009 .

[2]  D. Graham,et al.  Simulation of wave overtopping by an incompressible SPH model , 2006 .

[3]  J. Larsen,et al.  Open boundaries in short wave simulations — A new approach , 1983 .

[4]  Tommi Mikkola,et al.  SIMULATION OF PLUNGER-TYPE WAVE MAKERS , 2007 .

[5]  Francisco Castro,et al.  3D unsteady flow simulation in an OWC wave converter plant , 2006 .

[6]  Aydoğan Özdamar,et al.  Modelling the Interaction between Water Waves and the Oscillating Water Column Wave Energy Device , 2011 .

[7]  Beom-Soo Hyun,et al.  Review of Application of VOF-Based NWT on Integrated OWC System , 2012 .

[8]  Young-Ho Lee,et al.  Numerical and experimental studies on the PTO system of a novel floating wave energy converter , 2012 .

[9]  Beom-Soo Hyun,et al.  Application of Numerical Wave Tank to OWC Air Chamber for Wave Energy Conversion , 2008 .

[10]  B. Launder,et al.  The numerical computation of turbulent flows , 1990 .

[11]  Robert G. Dean,et al.  Water wave mechanics for engineers and scientists , 1983 .

[12]  Stephan T. Grilli,et al.  A fully nonlinear implicit model for wave interactions with submerged structures in forced or free motion , 2012 .

[13]  Mohammed Asid Zullah,et al.  Performance analysis of a wave energy converter using numerical simulation technique , 2010 .

[14]  Ahsan Kareem,et al.  A Two-Dimensional Numerical Wave Flume—Part 1: Nonlinear Wave Generation, Propagation, and Absorption , 2001 .

[15]  J. Falnes.  Ocean Waves and Oscillating Systems , 2002 .

[16]  Vallam Sundar,et al.  Simulation of 2-D nonlinear waves using finite element method with cubic spline approximation , 2006 .

[17]  Young-Ho Lee,et al.  Effect of front guide nozzle shape on the flow characteristics in an augmentation channel of a direct drive turbine for wave power generation , 2010 .

[18]  Yong Li,et al.  Wave-Body Interactions for a Surface-Piercing Body in Water of Finite Depth , 2010 .

[19]  Katsuji Tanizawa.  Long Time Fully Nonlinear Simulation of Floating Body Motions with Artificial Damping Zone , 1996 .

[20]  I. López,et al.  TURBINE−CHAMBER COUPLING IN AN OWC WAVE ENERGY CONVERTER , 2012 .

[21]  Mohammad Passandideh-Fard,et al.  Fully nonlinear viscous wave generation in numerical wave tanks , 2013 .

[22]  Eduard Egusquiza,et al.  Dynamic Analysis of Francis Runners - Experiment and Numerical Simulation , 2009 .

[23]  Krish Thiagarajan,et al.  CFD simulation of wave run-up on a spar cylinder , 2007 .

[24]  I. Orlanski.  A Simple Boundary Condition for Unbounded Hyperbolic Flows , 1976 .

[25]  Liércio André Isoldi,et al.  Constructal Design of a Three-Dimensional Oscillating Water Column (OWC) Wave Energy Converter (WEC) , 2012 .

[26]  Yong Li,et al.  Regular and irregular wave impacts on floating body , 2012 .

[27]  Sumesh Narayan,et al.  In situ near-shore wave resource assessment in the Fiji Islands , 2014 .

[28]  Dennis Y.C. Leung,et al.  2D Numerical Simulation of Ocean Waves , 2011 .

[29]  Yuan-Jyh Lan,et al.  EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL STUDIES ON WAVE PROPAGATION OVER COARSE GRAINED SLOPING BEACH , 2011 .

[30]  Cláudio Rodrigues Olinto,et al.  Computational Modeling of a Regular Wave Tank , 2009 .

[31]  Benedict D. Rogers,et al.  Numerical Modeling of Water Waves with the SPH Method , 2006 .

[32]  Young-Ho Lee,et al.  Flow and performance characteristics of a direct drive turbine for wave power generation , 2014 .

[33]  Paulo Roberto de Freitas Teixeira,et al.  Numerical study on the effect of submerged depth on the horizontal plate wave energy converter , 2014 .

[34]  R Cointe,et al.  NONLINEAR AND LINEAR MOTIONS OF A RECTANGULAR BARGE IN A PERFECT FLUID , 1991 .

[35]  Christian E. Schmittner,et al.  Numerical Wave Tank: Simulation of Extreme Waves for the Investigation of Structural Responses , 2005 .

[36]  A. Clément.  Coupling of Two Absorbing Boundary Conditions for 2D Time-Domain Simulations of Free Surface Gravity Waves , 1996 .

[37]  Stephan T. Grilli,et al.  Numerical Generation and Absorption of Fully Nonlinear Periodic Waves , 1997 .

[38]  Kwok Fai Cheung,et al.  Run-up on a structure due to second-order waves and a current in a numerical wave tank , 1998 .

[39]  Elizaldo Domingues dos Santos,et al.  TWO-DIMENSIONAL GEOMETRIC OPTIMIZATION OF AN OSCILLATING WATER COLUMN CONVERTER IN LABORATORY SCALE , 2018 .

[40]  Jianmin Yang,et al.  Numerical Simulation of Irregular Wave-Simulating Irregular Wave Train , 2010 .

[41]  Ho-Hwan Chun,et al.  Numerical reproduction of fully nonlinear multi-directional waves by a viscous 3D numerical wave tank , 2004 .

[42]  Xavier Gironella Cobos,et al.  Nonlinear Regular Wave Generation in Numerical and Physical Flumes , 2010 .

[43]  Jamie Goggins,et al.  Numerical simulation of linear water waves and wave–structure interaction , 2012 .

[44]  A. Lal,et al.  CFD Simulation and Validation of Flap Type Wave-Maker , 2008 .