Numerical simulations of large deep water waves: The application of a boundary element method

This paper concerns the description of extreme surface water waves in deep water. A fully nonlinear numerical wave model in three dimensions is presented, based on the Boundary Element Method (BEM), and is applied to nonlinear focusing of wave components with varying frequency and direction of propagation to form highly nonlinear groups. By using multiple fluxes at corners and edges of the numerical domain the "corner problem" associated with BEM-based models in physical space is overcome. A two-dimensional version of the method is also employed to model unidirectional cases, and examples presented include the focusing of Top Hat spectra in deep water to form highly nonlinear wave groups at or close to their breaking limit. The ability of the model to accurately simulate these sea states is highlighted by comparison to the fully nonlinear model of Bateman, Swan and Taylor (2001, 2003).