Wave Propagation Studies in Numerical Wave Tanks with Weakly Compressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics

Abstract

Generation and propagation of waves in a numerical wave tank constructed using Weakly Compressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (WCSPH) are considered here. Numerical wave tank simulations have been carried out with implementations of different Wendland kernels in conjunction with different numerical dissipation schemes. The simulations were accelerated by using General Process Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU) computing to utilize the massively parallel nature of the simulations and thus improve process efficiency. Numerical experiments with short domains have been carried out to validate the dissipation schemes used. The wave tank experiments consist of piston-type wavemakers and appropriate passive absorption arrangements to facilitate comparisons with theoretical predictions. The comparative performance of the different numerical wave tank experiments was carried out on the basis of the hydrostatic pressure and wave surface elevations. The effect of numerical dissipation with the different kernel functions was also studied on the basis of energy analysis. Finally, the observations and results were used to arrive at the best possible numerical set up for simulation of waves at medium and long distances of propagation, which can play a significant role in the study of extreme waves and energy localizations observed in oceans through such numerical wave tank simulations.