CFD simulation of wave run-up on a spar cylinder

A spar is essentially a large cylindrical deep draft floating facility which is promising technology for deep sea platforms because of its excellent sea keeping characteristics and its ability to support either rigid or flexible risers. However one of the most important factors in keeping the spar platform stable is to accurately determine the required air gap (region between the mean water level and the freeboard). A Reynolds Averaged Navier Strokes (RANS) based model is presented to model the wave run-up around the spar cylinder. The model enables one to calculate the maximum wave heights that an offshore platform may face. Results, presented for a typical spar cylinder compare well with the expected results of past empirical methods found in the literature.