Solving the complete pseudo-impulsive radiation and diffraction problem using a spectral element method

TL;DR

This paper introduces a spectral element method for accurately and efficiently solving the complete 3D linear radiation and diffraction problem for floating offshore structures, including complex oscillating water columns.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel high-order spectral element model that handles the full pseudo-impulsive radiation and diffraction problem with improved accuracy and computational efficiency.

Findings

Validated the spectral element solver through convergence studies.

Demonstrated the model's capability with simple floating bodies.

Successfully modeled complex oscillating water columns.

Abstract

This paper presents a novel, efficient, high-order accurate, and stable spectral element-based model for computing the complete three-dimensional linear radiation and diffraction problem for floating offshore structures. We present a solution to a pseudo-impulsive formulation in the time domain, where the frequency-dependent quantities, such as added mass, radiation damping, and wave excitation force for arbitrary heading angle, $\beta$, are evaluated using Fourier transforms from the tailored time-domain responses. The spatial domain is tessellated by an unstructured high-order hybrid configured mesh and represented by piece-wise polynomial basis functions in the spectral element space. Fourth-order accurate time integration is employed through an explicit four-stage Runge-Kutta method and complemented by fourth-order finite difference approximations for time differentiation. To reduce the computational burden, the model can make use of symmetry boundaries in the domain representation. The key piece of the numerical model -- the discrete Laplace solver -- is validated through $p$- and $h$-convergence studies. Moreover, to highlight the capabilities of the proposed model, we present prof-of-concept examples of simple floating bodies (a sphere and a box). Lastly, a much more involved case is performed of an oscillating water column, including generalized modes resembling the piston motion and wave sloshing effects inside the wave energy converter chamber. In this case, the spectral element model trivially computes the infinite-frequency added mass, which is a singular problem for conventional boundary element type solvers.