Comparison between wave generation methods for numerical simulation of bimodal seas

This paper describes an investigation of the generation of desired sea states in a numerical wave model. Bimodal sea states containing energetic swell components can be coastal hazards along coastlines exposed to large oceanic fetches. Investigating the effects of long-period bimodal seas requires large computational domains and increased running time to ensure the development of the desired sea state. Long computational runs can cause mass stability issues due to the Stokes drift and wave reflection, which in turn affect results through the variation of the water level. A numerical wave flume, NEWRANS, was used to investigate two wave generation methods： the wave paddle method, allowing for a smaller domain; and the internal mass source function method, providing an open boundary allowing reflected waves to leave the domain. The two wave generation methods were validated against experimental data by comparing the wave generation accuracy and the variance of mass in the model during simulations. Results show that the wave paddle method not only accurately generates the desired sea state but also provides a more stable simulation, in which mass fluctuation has less of an effect on the water depth during the long-duration simulations. As a result, it is suggested that the wave paddle method with active wave absorption is preferable to the internal wave maker option when investigating intermediate-depth long-period bimodal seas for long-duration simulations.

Morphodynamics of sandy beaches under the influence of storm sequences:Current research status and future needs

This paper reviews and discusses the current research status, trends, and future needs in the field of beach morphodynamics under the influence of storm sequences.The paper reviews how the three main research methods, field investigations, numerical modelling, and physical modelling, have been used to study beach morphodynamics during storm sequences.Available quantitative definitions of storm sequences at different sites are presented and discussed.It is shown that the definition of storm sequences is site-specific and requires knowledge of the storm climate, beach characteristics, and the temporal scale of beach recovery.Subsequently, the paper brings together currently available approaches aimed at describing the effect of storm sequences on beach erosion in a general way.The importance of storm chronology and the effects of an extreme storm within a sequence of storms are highlighted.Following that, the more poorly studied aspect of beach recovery in between storms within a sequence is discussed.Three indicators for defining beach recovery, namely the shoreline location, sediment volumes, and the beach state, are identified and compared.Finally, important research needs, including the need for detailed physical modelling, are identified.

Performance of a data-driven technique applied to changes in wave height and its effect on beach response

In this study the medium-term response of beach profiles was investigated at two sites： a gently sloping sandy beach and a steeper mixed sand and gravel beach. The former is the Duck site in North Carolina, on the east coast of the USA, which is exposed to Atlantic Ocean swells and storm waves, and the latter is the Milford-on-Sea site at Christchurch Bay, on the south coast of England, which is partially sheltered from Atlantic swells but has a directionally bimodal wave exposure. The data sets comprise detailed bathymetric surveys of beach profiles covering a period of more than 25 years for the Duck site and over 18 years for the Milford-on-Sea site. The structure of the data sets and the data-driven methods are described. Canonical correlation analysis （CCA） was used to find linkages between the wave characteristics and beach profiles. The sensitivity of the linkages was investigated by deploying a wave height threshold to filter out the smaller waves incrementally. The results of the analysis indicate that, for the gently sloping sandy beach, waves of all heights are important to the morphological response. For the mixed sand and gravel beach, filtering the smaller waves improves the statistical fit and it suggests that low-height waves do not play a primary role in the medium-term morohological resoonse, which is primarily driven by the intermittent larger storm waves.

Computational investigation of hydraulic performance variation with geometry in gabion stepped spillways

Over recent years, there has been a clear increase in the frequency of reported flooding events around the world. Gabion structures offer one means of flood mitigation in dam spillways. These types of structures provide an additional challenge to the computational modeller in that flow through the porous gabions must be simulated. We have used a computational model to investigate the flow over gabion stepped spillways. The model was first validated against published experimental results. Then, gabion stepped spillways with four different step geometries were tested under the same conditions in order to facilitate inter-comparisons and to choose the best option in terms of energy dissipation. The results show that normal gabion steps can dissipate more energy than overlap, inclined, and pooled steps. An intensive set of tests with varying slope, stone size, and porosity were undertaken. The location of the inception point and the water depth at this point obtained from this study were compared with those from existing formulae. Two new empirical equations have been derived, on the basis of a regression analysis, to provide improved results for gabion stepped spillways.