Numerical simulation of solitary wave interaction with wave wall of breakwater using arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method

Abstract

The arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian method is used to simulate solitary wave interacting with wave wall of a rubble mound breakwater. The Navier-Stokes equations in arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian description are solved using operator splitting technique. The penalty-based coupling method is introduced to analyze the coupling of structure and fluid. A piston-type wave maker generating the incident solitary wave is set up in the computational domain. In order to evaluate the numerical model's performance, a set of experimental studies are carried out in a wave flume using solitary waves at a 1:25 scale. The accuracy of simulation of the solitary wave is verified by comparing with the theoretical value and testing data of the wave surface. Wave transformation, impact and overtopping on the breakwater are simulated in this numerical flume, and the time history of pressure on the wave wall is analyzed. The distributions of maximum impact pressure for solitary waves with different wave heights from the numerical simulations show a good agreement with the experimental results. Based on the dynamic response of the breakwater, the stress distribution and the deformation of the wave wall are discussed. The numerical model can be used as a complementary tool for the design of this kind of structures.