Abstract:
This work presents the new developments and the validation of a Smoothed
Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) numerical model used in the National
Laboratory of Civil Engineering (Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil
- LNEC) for studies in coastal engineering processes. Although the model
requires a high CPU time, it proved to be very promising in the simulation
of complex flows, such as the wave-structure interaction and the wave
breaking phenomenon. For the SPH model validation, physical modeling
tests were performed in one LNEC’s flume to study the interaction between
an impermeable structure and an incident regular wave. The comparison
between numerical and experimental results, i.e. free surface elevation,
overtopping volume and pressure, shows the good accuracy of the SPH
model to reproduce the various phenomena involving on the wave
propagation and interaction with the structure, namely the wave breaking,
the wave overtopping and the pressure field on the structure.