The Impact of a Deep-Water Plunging Breaker

TL;DR

This study investigates the impact of deep-water plunging breakers on a partially submerged rigid cube using experiments and numerical simulations, revealing details of wave-impact dynamics and jet formation.

Contribution

It combines experimental measurements and numerical simulations to analyze wave impact on structures, focusing on jet formation and flow details.

Findings

High-speed vertical jet formation observed on the cube face.

Wave impact process characterized through combined experiments and simulations.

Flow dynamics and impact forces detailed for plunging breakers.

Abstract

The impact of a plunging breaking wave (wavelength approximately 1.3m) on a rigidly mounted rigid cube structure (dimension 0.31m) that is partially submerged is explored through experiments and numerical calculations. The experiments are carried out in a wave tank and the breaker is generated with a mechanical wave maker using a dispersive focusing technique. The water-surface profile upstream of the front face of the cube and in its vertical centerplane is measured using a cinematic laser-induced fluorescence technique. The three-dimensional flow in the wave tank is simulated directly using the Numerical Flow Analysis (NFA) code. The experiments and the calculations are used to explore the details of the wave-impact process and, in particular, the formation of the high-speed vertical jet that is found on the front face of the cube under some impact conditions.