Representation of 3-h Offshore Short-Crested Wave Field in the Fully Nonlinear Potential Flow Model REEF3D::FNPF

Abstract Stochastic wave properties are crucial for the design of offshore structures. Short-crested seas are commonly seen at the sites of offshore structures, especially during storm events. A long time duration is required in order to obtain the statistical properties, which is challenging for numerical simulations. In this scenario, a potential flow solver is ideal due to its computational efficiency. A procedure of reproducing accurate short-crested sea states using the open-source fully nonlinear potential flow model REEF3D::FNPF is presented in the paper. The procedure examines the sensitivity of the resolutions in space and time as well as the arrangements of wave gauge arrays. A narrow band power spectrum and a mildly spreading directional spreading function are simulated, and an equal energy method is used to generate input waves and avoid phase-locking. REEF3D::FNPF solves the Laplace equation together with the boundary conditions using a finite difference method. A sigma grid is used in the vertical direction and the vertical grid clustering follows the principle of constant truncation error. High-order discretization methods are implemented in space and time. Message passing interface is used for high performance computation using multiple processors. Three-hour simulations are performed in full-scale at a hypothetic offshore site with constant water depth. The significant wave height, peak period, kurtosis, skewness and ergodicity are examined in the numerically generated wave field. The stochastic wave properties in the numerical wave tank (NWT) using REEF3D::FNPF match the input wave conditions with high fidelity.