Non-Linear Shallow Water Equations numerical integration on curvilinear boundary-conforming grids

An Upwind Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory scheme for the solution of the Shallow Water Equations on generalized curvilinear coordinate systems is proposed. The Shallow Water Equations are expressed in a contravariant formulation in which Christoffel symbols are avoided. The equations are solved by using a high-resolution finite-volume method incorporated with an exact Riemann Solver. A procedure developed in order to correct errors related to the difficulties of numerically satisfying the metric identities on generalized boundary-conforming grids is presented; this procedure allows the numerical scheme to satisfy the freestream preservation property on highly-distorted grids. The capacity of the proposed model is verified against test cases present in literature. The results obtained are compared with analytical solutions and alternative numerical solutions

Bottom changes in coastal areas with complex shorelines

A model for the sea-bottom change simulations in coastal areas with complex shorelines is proposed. In deep and intermediate water depths, the hydrodynamic quantities are calculated by numerically integrating the contravariant Boussinesq equations, devoid of Christoffel symbols. In the surf zone, the propagation of the breaking waves is simulated by the nonlinear shallow water equations. The momentum equation is solved inside the turbulent boundary layer in order to calculate intrawave hydrodynamic quantities. An integral formulation for the contravariant suspended sediment advection-diffusion equation is proposed and used for the sea-bottom dynamic simulations. The proposed model is applied to the real case study of Pescara harbor (in Italy)

Numerical modelling of wave fields and currents in coastal area

The design and management of coastal engineering, like harbors and coastal defense structures, requires the simulation of hydrodynamic phenomena. This special issue collects five original papers that address state of the art numerical simulations of wave fields and wave-induced velocity fields in coastal areas. The first paper proposes a turbulence model for wave breaking simulation, which is expressed in terms of turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy (k-e); the proposed turbulence model is a modification of the standard k-e turbulence models. The second paper investigates modalities by which wind interacts with wave motion, modifying the wave propagation dynamic. The third paper proposes a study on waves overtopping over coastal barriers. The fourth paper details the numerical simulation of a tsunami wave that propagates over an artificial reservoir, caused by a landslide that creates a solid mass to detach from the slopes and to slide into the reservoir. The fifth paper examines an application case concerning Cetraro harbor (Italy), which is carried out using three-dimensional numerical simulations of wave motion

Numerical integration of the contravariant integral form of the Navier–Stokes equations in time-dependent curvilinear coordinate systems for three-dimensional free surface flows

We propose a three-dimensional non-hydrostatic shock-capturing numerical model for the simulation of wave propagation, transformation and breaking, which is based on an original integral formulation of the contravariant Navier–Stokes equations, devoid of Christoffel symbols, in general time-dependent curvilinear coordinates. A coordinate transformation maps the time-varying irregular physical domain that reproduces the complex geometries of coastal regions to a fixed uniform computational one. The advancing of the solution is performed by a second-order accurate strong stability preserving Runge–Kutta fractional-step method in which, at every stage of the method, a predictor velocity field is obtained by the shock-capturing scheme and a corrector velocity field is added to the previous one, to produce a non-hydrostatic divergence-free velocity field and update the water depth. The corrector velocity field is obtained by numerically solving a Poisson equation, expressed in integral contravariant form, by a multigrid technique which uses a four-colour Zebra Gauss–Seidel line-by-line method as smoother. Several test cases are used to verify the dispersion and shock-capturing properties of the proposed model in time-dependent curvilinear grids

Contravariant Boussinesq equations for the simulation of wave transformation, breaking and run-up

We propose an integral form of the fully non-linear Boussinesq equations in contravariant formulation, in which Christoffel symbols are avoided, in order to simulate wave transformation phenomena, wave breaking and near shore currents in computational domains representing the complex morphology of real coastal regions. The motion equations retain the term related to the approximation to the second order of the vertical vorticity. A new Upwind Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory scheme for the solution of the fully non- linear Boussinesq equations on generalised curvilinear coordinate systems is proposed. The equations are rearranged in order to solve them by a high resolution hybrid finite volume–finite difference scheme. The conservative part of the above-mentioned equations, consisting of the convective terms and the terms related to the free surface elevation, is discretised by a high-order shock- capturing finite volume scheme; dispersive terms and the term related to the approximation to the second order of the vertical vorticity are discretised by a cell-centred finite difference scheme. The shock-capturing method makes it possible to intrinsically model the wave breaking, therefore no additional terms are needed to take into account the breaking related energy dissipation in the surf zone. The model is applied on a real case regarding the simulation of wave fields and nearshore currents in the coastal region opposite Pescara harbour (Italy)

Numerical simulation of bed evolution dynamics: the Pescara harbor

A two-dimensional phase resolving model is used for the computation of the hydrodynamic field in wave-current interaction in the sea regions opposite to the Pescara harbor. The total sediment transport is given by the contribution of the suspended sediment load, calculated by solving the advection-diffusion equation for the suspended sediment concentration, and of the spatial variation of the bed load transport. The proposed model has been used to simulate the silting phenomenon occurring in the sea region opposite to the Pescara harbor in presence of coastal defense structures

Modeling bed evolution using weakly coupled phase-resolving wave model and wave-averaged sediment transport model

In this paper, we propose a model for the simulation of the bed evolution dynamics in coastal regions characterized by articulated morphologies. An integral form of the fully nonlinear Boussinesq equations in contravariant formulation, in which Christoffel symbols are absent, is proposed in order to simulate hydrodynamic fields from deep water up to just seaward of the surf zones. Breaking wave propagation in the surf zone is simulated by integrating the nonlinear shallow water equations with a high-order shock-capturing scheme. The near-bed instantaneous flow velocity and the intra-wave hydrodynamic quantities are calculated by the momentum equation integrated over the turbulent boundary layer. The bed evolution dynamics is calculated starting from the contravariant formulation of the advection-diffusion equation for the suspended sediment concentration in which the advective sediment transport terms are formulated according to a quasi-three-dimensional approach, and taking into account the contribution given by the spatial variation of the bed load transport. The model is validated against several tests by comparing numerical results with experimental data. The ability of the proposed model to represent the sediment transport phenomena in a morphologically articulated coastal region is verified by numerically simulating the long-term bed evolution in the coastal region opposite Pescara harbor (in Italy) and comparing numerical results with the field data

A dam-break flood simulation model in curvilinear coordinates

A dam-break flood model based on a contravariant integral form of the shallow water equations is presented. The numerical integration of the equations of motion is carried out by means of a finite volumefinite difference numerical scheme that involves an exact Riemann solver and which is based on a high-order WENO reconstruction procedure. An original scheme for the simulation of the wet front progress on the dry bed is adopted. The proposed model capacity to correctly simulate the wet front progress velocity is tested by numerically reproducing the dry bed dam-break problem. The model is adopted for the real case study of the Rio Fucino lake-dam collapse and subsequent flood wave propagation, downstream of the Campotosto reservoir (Italy)

On the integral form of the motion equations for free surface flow

This work deals with a novel three-dimensional finite-volume non-hydrostatic shock-capturing model for the simulation of wave transformation processes and wave-structure interaction. The model is based on an integral formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations solved on a coordinate system in which the vertical coordinate is varying in time. A finite-volume shock-capturing numerical technique based on high order WENO reconstructions is adopted in order to discretize the fluid motion equations