Fully non-linear free-surface simulations by a 3D viscous numerical wave tank

A finite difference scheme using a modified marker-and-cell (MAC) method is applied to investigate the characteristics of non-linear wave motions and their interactions with a stationary three-dimensional body inside a numerical wave tank (NWT). The Navier-Stokes (NS) equation is solved for two fluid layers, and the boundary values are updated at each time step by a finite difference time marching scheme in the frame of a rectangular co-ordinate system. The viscous stresses and surface tension are neglected in the dynamic free-surface condition, and the fully non-linear kinematic free-surface condition is satisfied by the density function method developed for two fluid layers. The incident waves are generated from the inflow boundary by prescribing a velocity profile resembling flexible flap wavemaker motions, and the outgoing waves are numerically dissipated inside an artificial damping zone located at the end of the tank. The present NS-MAC NWT simulations for a vertical truncated circular cylinder inside a rectangular wave tank are compared with the experimental results of Mercier and Niedzwecki, an independently developed potential-based fully non-linear NM, and the second-order diffraction computation. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.