Numerical Simulation of Extreme Free Surface Waves

In traditional coastal and offshore engineering design, physical experiments and potential flow solvers are commonly used to investigate wave loading on structures. However, most potential flow models cannot deal with extreme free surface problems including wave breaking or splashing over the structure. Further, physical experiments easily become very complex and scaling issues arise. In these cases, an approach that includes the viscous effects models both water and air and fully couples the wave and structure is needed. This paper deals with the generation of waves close to the breaking point using two commercial software packages. These may be used to generate an extreme design wave to investigate the survivability of offshore wave energy converters or other devices operating in such a challenging environment. Regular and focused wave results are presented and compared with physical experiments and potential flow calculations.