Investigation of Higher-Harmonic Wave Forces and Ringing Using CFD Simulations

Typical offshore structures are designed as tension-leg platforms or gravity based structures with cylindrical substructures. The interaction of waves with the vertical cylinders in high sea states can result in a resonant response called ringing. Here, the frequency of the structural response is close to the natural frequency of the structure itself and leads to large amplitude motions. This is a case of extreme wave loading in high sea states. This understanding of higher-order wave forces in extreme sea states is an essential parameter for obtaining a safe, reliable and economical design of an offshore structure. The study of such higher-order effects needs detailed near-field modelling of the wave-structure interaction and the associated flow phenomena. In such cases, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model that can accurately represent the free surface and further the wave-structure interaction problem can provide important insights into the wave hydrodynamics and the structural response. In this paper, the open source CFD model REEF3D is used to simulate wave interaction with a vertical cylinder and the wave forces on the cylinder are calculated. The harmonic components of the wave force are analysed. The model employs higher-order discretisation schemes such as a fifth-order WENO scheme for convection discretisation and a third-order Runge-Kutta scheme for time advancement on a staggered Cartesian grid. The level set method is used to obtain the free surface, providing a sharp interface between air and water. The relaxation method is used to generate and absorb the waves at the two ends of the numerical wave tank. This method provides good quality wave generation and also the wave reflected from the cylinder are absorbed at the wave generation zone. In this way, the generated waves are not affected by the wave interaction process in the numerical wave tank. This is very essential in the studies of higher-order wave interaction problems which are very sensitive to the incident wave characteristics. The numerical results are compared to experimental results for higher-order forces on a vertical cylinder to validate the numerical model.