Interactions between fully nonlinear water waves and cylinder arrays in a wave tank

Fully nonlinear interactions between water waves and vertical cylinder arrays in a numerical tank are studied based oil a finite element method (FEM). The three-dimensional (3D) mesh is constructed through an extension of a 2D Delaunay surface grid along the vertical line. The velocity potential is obtained by solving a linear matrix system of FEM, and a difference scheme is then used to calculate the velocity on the free surface to track its movement. Waves and hydrodynamic forces are obtained for both bottom mounted and truncated cylinders. The simulations have provided many results to show the nature of Mutual interference between cylinders in arrays and its effects on waves and forces at the nearly trapped mode frequency. The effect of the tank wall on waves and forces has been investigated, and the nonlinear features of waves and forces have also been discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.