MPS simulation of wet dam-break flows with breaking features loading the deck of a fixed structure

Flows that interact with coastal or marine structures can present breaking features that could be modeled using particle-based computational fluid dynamics (CDF) methods. In this work, an experimental and numerical study of the interaction of wet dam-break flows with a fixed structure was performed, employing a meshless CFD approach. The flows analyzed were in the form of hydraulic jumps with breaking features at wave crest. The processes of wave formation and interaction with a fixed structure were investigated. This last included bow run-up and propagation over the deck of the structure. In the experimental tests, a force balance was embedded to the structure deck to measure hydrodynamic forces, whereas high-speed visualization was employed to capture flow propagation details. Numerical calculations were made by the moving particle semi-implicit (MPS) method to represent the flow propagation and induced loading. The effect of three particle sizes in the obtained results was evaluated, considering turbulence and surface tension contributions. Force comparison results showed agreement between experimental measurements and numerical calculations, where mean absolute error decreases around 21% from the case with the largest to the medium particle size and only 1% from the medium to the smallest particle size. However, computational time increases 2.74 times from the case with the smallest to the medium particle size, and 13.93 times from the case with the smallest to the largest particle size. Regarding the wave profiles comparison, the experimental profiles were better represented by the small particle size calculation. Based on the results obtained, some recommendations are provided to improve the use of particle-based methods in evaluating breaking flows interacting with fixed structures.