Numerical study of three-dimensional overturning waves in shallow water

Abstract

Simulations in a three-dimensional numerical wave tank are performed to investigate the shoaling and breaking of solitary waves over a sloping ridge. The numerical model solves fully nonlinear potential flow equations with a high-order boundary-element method combined with an explicit time-integration method, expressed in a mixed Eulerian–Lagrangian formulation. Analyses of shoaling and breaking-wave profiles and kinematics (both on the free surface and within the flow) are carried out. It is observed that the transverse modulation of the ridge topography induces three-dimensional effects on the time evolution, shape and kinematics of breaking waves. Comparisons of two- and three-dimensional results in the middle cross-section of the ridge, however, show remarkable similarities, especially for the shape and dynamics of the plunging jet.