Title

Simulation of wave forces on a gravity based foundation by a BEM based on fully nonlinear potential flow

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Date of Original Version

1-1-2017

Abstract

We report on recent developments of a three-dimensional (3D) model for wave propagation and wave-structure interaction. The velocity field is solved with a boundary element method (BEM), based on fully nonlinear potential flow. This approach is efficiently parallelized on CPU clusters. Recent progress is presented for extending the model for the use of higher-order elements (i.e., cubic B-splines), and outline the future steps necessary to a high-order approach on completely arbitrary meshes necessary for complex industrial applications. Particular care is taken with regards to the corner compatibility condition along the intersection between the body and free-surface, which is necessary for highaccuracy modeling with the BEM approach. Applications are shown for academic tests as well as for the computation of wave-induced forces and moments on gravity-based foundations, where we compare numerical results against laboratory experiments. Such applications are of interest to the continued development of foundations for offshore wind farms, and extensions to this model are being implemented for simulating floating structures and coupling to other models including viscous effects, which can be important in some cases.

Publication Title, e.g., Journal

Proceedings of the International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference

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