Numerical Investigation of Solitary Wave Interaction with a Row of Vertical Slotted Piles

This study numerically investigated tsunami-like solitary waves propagating over a row of vertical, slotted, cylindrical piles. Existing studies using depth-integrated models, such as shallow-water equations, could not adequately resolve the wave dynamics over water depth. An alternative three-dimensional, numerical model, based on OpenFOAM(R) software, was developed for this study. The Navier-Stokes equations for two-phase, incompressible flow, combined with methods of large eddy simulation (LES) for turbulence closure and volume of fluid (VOF) for tracking the free surface, were solved. Laboratory experiments were performed on the measurements of flow near the piles and the dynamic pressures on the pile surface. The model was then validated with the laboratory data as well as data in the literature, and good agreements were found for wave, flow, and dynamic pressure near the slotted piles. Finally, a set of numerical experiments was conducted to examine the evolutionary behaviors of wave run-up, vortex generation, and the vertical structure of dynamic pressure around the row of slotted piles and around a single pile. Total force between the row of slotted piles and a single pile was compared and discussed in the light of the Morison equation.