Wave-current interaction in shallow flows

In this paper, a time domain numerical method to investigate wave-current interaction in shallow flows is proposed. In the framework of Helmholtz decomposition, the viscous component is described by a depth-averaged model, and free-surface effects are considered by a fully 3-D potential linear model. The basic hypothesis of the proposed approach is that all the interaction effects can be described by means of a potential flow field. The depth-averaged, unsteady, viscous flow is obtained by using a suitable eddy viscosity model, within the RANS framework, and the numerical solution is achieved by a finite difference method. On the other hand, the potential, fully 3-D flow field is computed by means of a boundary integral formulation.