An ocean wave simulation method using Ansys Fluent

Abstract

Ocean wave has been a hot topic of research since the nineteenth century. CFD became a powerful tool in the recent years in understanding the wave behavior and helped researchers to conduct preliminary study. Although a lot of work has been done on oceanic application using wave simulation method, some of these applications are already in the commercial stage, but little work can be found detailing a standard, accurate and yet not too complicated way to simulate wave with a reasonable generality. In this study the author proposed a method using Ansys Fluent to simulate ocean waves at full range of water depth, wave length and wave amplitude, utilizing Airy linear wave, Stokes 2nd order wave and Cnoidal wave. The method enables researchers to simulate waves with expected characteristics efficiently.