Solitary Wave Diffraction with a Single and Two Vertical Circular Cylinders

This study investigates the three-dimensional (3-D) solitary wave interaction with two cylinders in tandem and side-by-side arrangements for two wave heights. The solitary wave generation and propagation are predicted using the volume of fluid method (VOF) coupled with the NavierStokes transport equations. The PHOENICS code is used to solve these transport equations. The solitary wave generation based on the source line developed by Hafsia et al. (2009) is extended in three-dimensional wave flow and is firstly validated for solitary waves propagating on a flat bottom. The comparison between numerical results and analytical solution for small wave height (H/h) = 0.1 and 0.2 shows good agreements. The wave crest and the pseudo-wavelength are well reproduced. Excellent agreements were found in terms of maximum run-up and wave forces by comparison with the present model and analytical studies. The present model can be tested for the extreme solitary wave to extend its application to a more realistic case study as the solitary wave diffraction with an offshore oil platform.