Numerical simulation of regular waves: Optimization of a numerical wave tank

With the growth registered in computational power, numerical models applied to fluid flows is an increasingly important tool for oceanic and coastal engineering, and can be used in studies including energy converters. The main objective of this work consists of using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software, ANSYS(center dot) CFX center dot, to study the generation and propagation of regular waves. At first, a Numerical Wave Tank (NWT) is created to study the ability of ANSYS(center dot) CFX center dot to model regular progressive waves. Two different ways of generating waves at the beginning of the NWT are tested. It was concluded that the implementation of a piston wavemaker provides more accurate results. In addition, ways of preventing reflection at the end of the NWT are analyzed, as well as several parameters in order to optimize the solution. The optimized solution is compared to Stokes second order theory, showing good agreement. It was demonstrated that ANSYS(center dot) CFX center dot is capable of modelling accurately progressive regular waves.