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Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydraulics and Hydrodynamics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2019) | Viewed by 57889

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ling Qian

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Guest Editor

Department of Computing and Mathematics, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, UK
Interests: computational aerodynamics and hydrodynamics; numerical wave tanks; Cartesian cut cell and overset grid; wave structure interaction; offshore renewable energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Hanbin Gu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Naval Architecture & Mechanical-electrical Engineering, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, 316022, China
Interests: numerical wave simulation; level set method; wave interaction with structure; renewable ocean energy; coastal reservoir; ocean engineering

Dr. Zhihua Ma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Computing, Mathematics and Digital Technology, The Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, England, UK
Interests: wave breaking simulation; multiphase flow modelling; hydrodynamic impact; high-speed compressible flows; parallel computing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few decades, with the constant advances in computer technology and numerical techniques for solving underlying equations for free surface flow, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), in the form of numerical wave tank (NWT), has increasingly been adopted for and has become an integral part of the design and testing of new marine and offshore structures. A large number of commercial, in-house and open source CFD codes exist for the specific flow problem of wave structure interactions. However, due to the non-linear and even violent nature of the flow problem, which involves complex moving/deforming free surfaces, wave breaking and air entrainment, flow turbulence and fluid compressibility effects as well as their interaction with moving/floating solid or compliant structures, further improvements to the accuracy, efficiency and robustness of the underlying flow solvers, including their efficient implementation on modern high-performance computing platforms are still required before they can be routinely applied, as a design tool, for real engineering practices.

The aim of this Special Issue is to disseminate the latest advancement in CFD techniques for flow problems arising from marine and offshore applications. A particular focus will be on the development and applications of high-fidelity and efficient numerical techniques for emerging offshore and marine engineering problems, e.g., modelling of wave interaction with multi-use platforms including offshore renewable energy and aquaculture devices. The scope of the special issue will include, but not limited to, the following topics:

Review of the latest development in offshore and marine CFD;
Novel CFD methods (mesh or particle based) for free surface flows;
Violent wave impact on coastal and offshore structures including aeration and fluid compressibility effects;
Modelling of novel offshore renewable energy devices and multi-use offshore platforms;
Development and application of OpenFoam and other open sources CFD codes for offshore and marine engineering problems;
Wave interaction with floating and/or flexible structures (hydro-elasticity);
Integrated numerical wave tank through effective code coupling;
Implementation of high performance computing in CFD.

Dr. Ling Qian
Prof. Hanbin Gu
Dr. Zhihua Ma
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
Numerical wave tanks
Wave impact on offshore and marine structures
Breaking waves and air entrainment
Openfoam
High performance computing
Offshore and marine renewable energy devices
Ship hydrodynamics and seakeeping
Sloshing waves
Wave interaction with compliant structures

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 10189 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental and Numerical Study on Motion and Resistance Characteristics of the Partial Air Cushion Supported Catamaran

by Shijie Lu, Jin Zou, Yuangang Zhang and Zhiqun Guo

Water 2019, 11(5), 1033; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11051033 - 17 May 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3892

Abstract

The Partial Air Cushion Supported Catamaran (PACSCAT) is an innovative design which combines both the characteristics of hovercraft and catamaran. Further, it provides a high-speed and efficient solution with excellent performance, particularly for shallow water. In this paper, experimental and numerical method are carried out for research of motion attitude and resistance characteristics, which provide a reference for further research and hull optimization work. By model towing test and data interpretation, and the resistance, trim, and heave varying law with increasing speed is summarized. From the view of total resistance, the impacts of the cushion pressure and air flow on resistance performance of PACSCAT are analyzed. Based on the theory of viscous fluid mechanics, a numerical simulation method with high prediction accuracy is established. The flow field around and inside the hull is simulated, the simulating results show good agreements with the testing data. Finally, the effect of the cushion compartment improving the resistance performance is studied. The results show that the cushion compartment is significant for adjusting the pressure distribution of the air cushion. And the average resistance reduction ratio at the high-speed segment can even reach 22%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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15 pages, 5390 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Time Domain Simulation of Damage Flooding Considering Air Compression Characteristics

by XinLong Zhang, Zhuang Lin, Ping Li, Yue Dong and Fei Liu

Water 2019, 11(4), 796; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11040796 - 17 Apr 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3083

Abstract

An accurate analysis of the entire flooding process is critical to assess the damaged stability when a ship encounters distressed accidents such as collision, stranding, or grounding. Among many factors affecting the flooding process and damaged stability, the complex effect of air compression is significant and worthy of further research. In this paper, through establishing scenarios of the damage flooding for a cruise ship, the commercial software CD Adapco STARCCM+ is applied to perform time domain simulation of flooding processes under different ventilation levels. The basic mathematical models about air compression and specific simulation settings of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are presented in detail. The simulation results show that water ingression results in an increase of air pressure and density inside the flooded compartment. The corresponding air compression can significantly delay the flooding process if the ventilation level is limited to a certain ratio. Finally, the stability of the damaged ship is affected. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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17 pages, 10131 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study on the Motion of Partial Air Cushion Support Catamaran in Regular Head Waves

by Jinglei Yang, Zhuang Lin, Zeyang Gao and Ping Li

Water 2019, 11(3), 580; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030580 - 20 Mar 2019

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3320

Abstract

In this paper, the motion of partial air cushion support catamaran (PACSCAT) sailing in regular waves was firstly investigated by the experimental method. The monitored histories of heave, pitch, midship acceleration, and air cushion pressure in towing tests are performed to analyze the influence of air cushion on the periodicity feature of hull body motion. Subsequently, using the finite volume method (FVM)-based CFD software Star-ccm, numerical simulations are carried out for the PACSCAT model with a simplification of the air cushion system. The detailed flow information of wave evolution, pressure, and velocity distribution is investigated. The calculated oscillation characteristics of different motion parameters are compared with those from experiment and show good agreement. The numerical method also has good capacity in the prediction of amplitude response of heave and midship acceleration; however, large error is found when calculating resistance and amplitude response of pitch. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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21 pages, 8201 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Actuator Line Method and Full Rotor Geometry Simulations of the Wake Field of a Tidal Stream Turbine

by Xiang-feng Lin, Ji-sheng Zhang, Yu-quan Zhang, Jing Zhang and Sheng Liu

Water 2019, 11(3), 560; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030560 - 18 Mar 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3320

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the wake characteristics of a horizontal axis tidal stream turbine supported by a monopile using a numerical approach. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations based on the open source software OpenFOAM have been performed to enhance understanding of a turbine’s wake. The numerical simulations adopt both the actuator line method and the full rotor geometry method. The numerical results are found to be consistent with experimental data, although some discrepancies are observed at a distance of one rotor diameter downstream. Comparison of numerical results from both methods is performed. The results show that both methods can obtain important flow features and provide similar simulation in the wake of the turbine model. The actuator line method is able to give a better prediction in stream-wise velocity distribution, although it underestimates the turbulence intensity, circumferential velocity and vorticity magnitude slightly, compared with the full rotor geometry method. It is also found that the wake of the monopile and the rotor interact strongly in the downstream field, especially in the region immediately behind the structure. A strong interaction occurs within approximately two rotor diameters downstream. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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19 pages, 12399 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Simulation of 2-D Solitary Wave Run-Up over Various Slopes Using a Particle-Based Method

by Se-Min Jeong, Ji-In Park and Jong-Chun Park

Water 2019, 11(3), 462; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030462 - 05 Mar 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3834

Abstract

The present paper covers the numerical prediction of the propagation and run-up of a solitary wave over non-flat seabed with various slope angles using a refined MPS (moving particle simulation) method. In the refined method, the corrected gradient model, new staggered divergence-free model, moving-particle wall boundary treatment, and the sub-particle scale turbulence model are applied to obtain more stable and precise results. The simulation results by the developed method are compared with experimental results, and both results were in good agreement. Especially, it can be seen that the complicated and fully-nonlinear behavior of the free-surface motion during the turbulent processes of build-up, break-down, and overturning of the waves are well reproduced by the developed method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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17 pages, 6840 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Research on the Resistance Reduction of Air Intake

by Lei Du, Hanbing Sun, Yi Jiang and Ping Li

Water 2019, 11(2), 280; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020280 - 06 Feb 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4261

Abstract

In order to investigate the drag-reducing effect of air intake, forward motion of planing trimaran models in calm water were simulated for Froude numbers ranging from 3.14–5.87. The hull body motion is implemented by coupling the fluid solver with motion solver. Numerical results were compared with the experimental data and showed good agreement. Contrastive calculations of models with and without air intake show that the air intake presents evident drag-reducing effect when Froude number is above 4.49, the cambered configuration of air intake could amplify air cavity and thus decrease fractional resistance. CFD incremental studies were subsequently carried out for the camber of air intake, it is found that the model with chamber-shortened air intake shows the worst resistance performance, while enlarging air intake chamber could reduce resistance at Froude numbers between 4.06 and 4.97. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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18 pages, 1068 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stabilized Formulation for Modeling the Erosion/Deposition Flux of Sediment in Circulation/CFD Models

by Yi-Ju Chou, Yun-Chuan Shao, Yi-Hao Sheng and Che-Jung Cheng

Water 2019, 11(2), 197; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020197 - 24 Jan 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3383

Abstract

In field-scale modeling, when the resuspension of sediment is modeled using a hydrodynamic model, a standard and common approach is to add a resuspension flux as the bottom boundary condition in the transport model. In this study, we show that the way of simply imposing an empirical bottom erosion formula as the flux is actually unrealistic. Its inability to stabilize the sediment concentration can cause excessive suspension fluxes in some extreme cases. Moreover, we present a modified erosion/deposition formula to model the resuspension of sediment. The formulation is based on volume conservation in the presence of erosion/deposition near the bottom. By taking into account the prescribed dry density of the bed material, the proposed formulation is able to produce realistic near-bed concentrations while ensuring model stability. The formulation is then tested in a one-dimensional vertical model and field modeling cases using a three-dimensional coastal circulation model. We show that the modified formulation is particularly important in modeling mud resuspension subject to the large bottom stress, which can be a result of waves or a strong river discharge. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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11 pages, 2343 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Method for the Calculation of the Underwater Effective Wake Field for Propeller Optimization

by Jianing Li, Dagang Zhao, Chao Wang, Shuai Sun and Liyu Ye

Water 2019, 11(1), 165; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11010165 - 17 Jan 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3930

Abstract

A quasi-steady prediction model of propeller hydrodynamic performance was established here using the surface panel method to determine the effective wake field of a propeller. The apparent wake field was accurately determined in advance by CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics). The average of the induced velocity near the front of the propeller was determined by coupling the steady calculation and the unsteady forecast to render the induced velocity field more consistent with the actual situation when the propeller works in a non-uniform flow field. By superimposing the induced velocity near the front of the propeller with the apparent wake field, the effective wake field was able to be determined. Then the induced velocity field was calculated again to determine the new effective wake. An iterative calculation method was used until the hydrodynamic performance converged. The case described here shows that the effective wake obtained by this method can better predict the hydrodynamic performance of the propeller, and it can provide a basis for the design and optimization of the propeller. It was found that the results of the prediction were consistent with the experimental values. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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18 pages, 11652 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vortex Cascade Features of Turbulent Flow in Hydro-Turbine Blade Passage with Complex Geometry

by Xiucheng Hu and Lixiang Zhang

Water 2018, 10(12), 1859; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10121859 - 14 Dec 2018

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 6381

Abstract

A large-eddy simulation of three-dimensional turbulent flow for a hydro-turbine in the transitional process of decreasing load from rated power to no-load has been implemented by using ANSYS-Fluent in this paper. The survival space occupied by different scale flow structures for the different guide vane opening degrees was well captured. The flow characteristics in the transitional process were obtained. Different forms of the channel vortex were studied. The features of the vortex cascade and dissipation of the turbulent energy in blade passage were analyzed. The results show that the scales of the vortex structures have a large change in the transitional process of rejecting load, and the vortex distributions in the blade passage are significantly distinguished. The survival space of the different scale eddies in the blade passage is closely related to the scales of the vortex. The survival volume ratio of the adjacent scale vortex in the runner is about 1.2–1.6. The turbulent kinetic energy and eddy viscosity increase rapidly along the blade passage with the small-scale eddies going up, which implies that a dissipating path for the energy in the blade passage is formed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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21 pages, 7096 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hydrodynamic Performance Analysis of the Vertical Axis Twin-Rotor Tidal Current Turbine

by Yong Ma, Chao Hu, Yulong Li, Lei Li, Rui Deng and Dapeng Jiang

Water 2018, 10(11), 1694; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10111694 - 20 Nov 2018

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 5087

Abstract

The goal of this manuscript is to investigate the influence of relative distance between the twin rotors on the hydrodynamic performance of the vertical axis twin-rotor tidal current turbine. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations based on commercial software ANSYS-CFX have been performed to enhance the understanding of interactions between the twin-rotors. The interactions between the twin rotors are known to have increased the power output efficiency as a whole, and it is, therefore, of great significance to undertake deeper research. The simulation results are found to be consistent with similar research results in the literature in some aspects. The simulation results of stand-alone turbine and twin rotors are compared from three different aspects, including blade forces, power output efficiency and wake flow field. The results showed that the cyclic variations tendency of blade force coefficients of twin rotors is close to that of the stand-alone turbine. The average power output efficiency of the twin-rotors system is higher than that of the stand-alone turbine. The interactions between the turbines increase the power output of the twin turbine system as whole in a wide relative distance range. However, smaller relative distance between the twin rotors does not mean a bigger power output efficiency of such a system. The power out efficiency of such a system would decrease when the relative distance between the twin rotors exceeds the critical point. The power output of the twin rotors reaches the peak value when the ratio between the two main axis distance and diameter of the turbine is around 9/4. This research can provide a reference for the design and development of larger tidal power stations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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12 pages, 2814 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Liquid Sloshing Damping in an Accelerated Tank Using a Novel Slot-Baffle Design

by Ender Demirel and Mustafa M. Aral

Water 2018, 10(11), 1565; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10111565 - 02 Nov 2018

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6504

Abstract

A slot-baffle design used in water treatment tanks previously developed by the authors is used to suppress sloshing effects in an accelerated tank. This new application is another example of the versatility of the slot-baffle design in inducing turbulence in fluid flow systems, which has numerous uses in engineering applications. Large amplitude surface waves in a harmonically excited tank are simulated using a second-order accurate numerical model in OpenFOAM. The verification of the numerical model is performed by comparing the numerical results with existing laboratory measurements, which show a favorable agreement. Various slot configurations are studied in order to evaluate the damping performance during the external excitation of the tank. It is shown that the present design shows an effective dissipation performance in a broad range of oscillation frequencies, while 88% of the internal kinetic energy of the liquid is dissipated over thirty oscillation periods for the resonance case. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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21 pages, 10590 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding Morphodynamic Changes of a Tidal River Confluence through Field Measurements and Numerical Modeling

by Qiancheng Xie, James Yang, Staffan Lundström and Wenhong Dai

Water 2018, 10(10), 1424; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10101424 - 11 Oct 2018

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4377

Abstract

A confluence is a natural component in river and channel networks. This study deals, through field and numerical studies, with alluvial behaviors of a confluence affected by both river run-off and strong tides. Field measurements were conducted along the rivers including the confluence. Field data show that the changes in flow velocity and sediment concentration are not always in phase with each other. The concentration shows a general trend of decrease from the river mouth to the confluence. For a given location, the tides affect both the sediment concentration and transport. A two-dimensional hydrodynamic model of suspended load was set up to illustrate the combined effects of run-off and tidal flows. Modeled cases included the flood and ebb tides in a wet season. Typical features examined included tidal flow fields, bed shear stress, and scour evolution in the confluence. The confluence migration pattern of scour is dependent on the interaction between the river currents and tidal flows. The flood tides are attributable to the suspended load deposition in the confluence, while the ebb tides in combination with run-offs lead to erosion. The flood tides play a dominant role in the morphodynamic changes of the confluence. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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18 pages, 4559 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Solitary Wave Generation and Propagation under Hypergravity Fields

by Qiao-Sha Wang, Ming-Hai Li and Dai-Wei Li

Water 2018, 10(10), 1381; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10101381 - 02 Oct 2018

Viewed by 2530

Abstract

The traditional small-scale marine engineering experiments that are performed under normal gravity fields always encounter one stubborn difficulty related to full-scale prototype models. However, the difficulty can be resolved by centrifuge experiments that can generate hypergravity fields in which the centrifuge acceleration is many times greater than the gravity acceleration. In this study, the generation of solitary waves in hypergravity fields is proposed using solitary wavemaker theory and scaling laws. A series of case simulations are performed under four different gravity fields (1 g, 30 g, 50 g, and 100 g, where g is the gravity acceleration). These cases are presented and discussed in detail to understand and verify the scaling laws and the stability of the solitary wave during its generation and propagation within hypergravity fields. The numerical results show that the waveform and the static pressure field that are obtained during the simulations performed under different gravity fields agree well at the macroscale. Since the velocity field is sensitive to wave attenuation, time lag, fluid viscosity and surface tension, some discrepancies can be found in the velocity field. It should be noted that the fluid viscosity and surface tension have influence on the wave attenuation. However, wave attenuation and time lag can be offset by a well-designed incident wave condition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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13 pages, 6882 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Hydrodynamic Resistance Moment of Horizontally-Framed Miter Gates

by Jinchao Xu, Qiong Chen, Yun Li, Jianxu Zhou, Jianfeng An, Xiujun Yan and Yan Guo

Water 2018, 10(10), 1345; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10101345 - 28 Sep 2018

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2341

Abstract

Generally, the operation of the horizontally-framed miter gate in a ship lock should consider the effects of hydrodynamic resistance. If over-filling or over-emptying exists and the miter gate opens with reverse head, the hydrodynamic resistance will increase rapidly, endangering the operation safety of the miter gate. In order to study the operating characteristics of the miter gate, a prototype test is introduced in this paper. Results show that, during the filling or emptying process, when water levels at both sides of the miter gate are equal the first time, opening the gate in a timely manner can obviously avoid the influence of reverse head. Furthermore, a three-dimensional numerical model with a dynamic mesh is established for analyzing the hydrodynamic characteristics in different operating conditions. Results show that the peak value of operating load always occurs at the initial time, and the greater the submerged water depth, the larger the peak value. With the increasing of reverse head, the piston rods sustain a great compression, and the peak value appears at an early stage of gate opening. The results have a reference value for the design of a miter gate in the related engineering projects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Marine and Offshore Engineering)

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