Development and experimental validation of a multidirectional circular wave basin using smoothed particle hydrodynamics

Several researchers around the world have developed ocean energy devices over the last three decades. Furthermore, experimental facilities designed to test such devices have become increasingly focused on the generation of multidirectional, realistic, waves. In particular, FloWave, located at the University of Edinburgh, is the first ocean energy research facility in the world to reproduce wave and current combinations including severe design conditions in a multidirectional circular water tank.

In this study, a numerical water tank model was developed for the FloWave multidirectional wave basin using a modified version of DualSPHysics on graphics processing units. The geometry includes 168 wave-maker paddles that were constructed using particles and treated as a solid phase. Rotation angle data were individually imposed on each paddle to generate monochromatic long-crested regular/irregular wave trains and a concentric wave singularity including wave absorption. Model-determined surface elevation results were in overall agreement with the experimental results; several regular, irregular, and concentric wave conditions were successfully reproduced in a multidirectional wave basin. The presented
research represents the first reported reproduction of a multidirectional wave tank,
and multidirectional waves, using particle based methods. To demonstrate future capability, the numerical model was also applied to a strong fluid–structure interaction between wave trains and an offshore wind turbine structure with six degrees of freedom as a further work.