Annex D - Stw-Comflow3

Technische Wetenschappen
Extreme wave impact on offshore platforms and coastal structures

(Extreme golfkrachten op offshore platforms en kustwerken)
Applicants
prof.dr. A.E.P. Veldman
Institute for Mathematics and Computing Science
University of Groningen
P.O. Box 407
9700 AK Groningen
phone: 050-3633988 (office) / 3633939 (secr.)
fax: 050-3633800
e-mail: veldman@math.rug.nl
prof.dr.ir. R.H.M. Huijsmans

Department of Ship Hydromechanics and Structures
Technical University Delft
Mekelweg 2
2628 CD Delft
phone: 015-2783598 (office) / 2786882 (secr.)
fax: 015-2781836
e-mail: r.h.m.huijsmans@tudelft.nl
Project leader prof.dr. A.E.P. Veldman

Key words hydrodynamic wave loading, non-linear surface waves, offshore platforms, coastal protection,
CFD, viscous flow simulation, non-reflecting boundary conditions, two-phase flow
1
1.1
Summary
Research
Extreme waves and their impact loading on fixed and floating structures, like production and offloading platforms, coastal protection systems and offshore wind farms, have long been subjects that could only be studied
with experimental methods. The complex, highly non-linear wave kinematics could not be predicted with existing numerical methods (CFD). However, recent research by the partners of this proposal has shown that new
hydrodynamic models based on the NavierStokes equations, in combination with a VOF-based method for the
description of the free-surface dynamics, are able to predict such effects. In two foregoing projects a two-phase
flow model has been developed. Good progress has been made in predicting load forces for flow phenomena
like sloshing, green water loading and wave run-up; also the cushioning effects of entrapped air is included in
the model. On the other hand, experimental validation has revealed aspects in the numerical model that need
further extension and improvement. This relates to the physical and mathematical aspects of:
Extreme waves and their propagation (to better model the oncoming waves until impact).
Effect of viscosity in shear layers (to model small-scale flow details of the endangered construction).
Interactive vessel-wave dynamics (to describe the coupled dynamics of wave and vessel motion).
Although first priority is on accurate description of physical phenomena, i.e. the functionality of the simulation
method, for its daily use also computational efficiency is relevant. Thus another action will be:
Speed-up through local grid refinement (to limit the number of grid points) and parallelization.
The proposal will focus on these vital and complex modelling issues, and to their computational implementation.
Experimental validation with respect to the above-mentioned physical phenomena will also form part of the
project.
1.2
Utilization
The 2004/2005 hurricanes Ivan, Katrina and Rita in the Gulf of Mexico have refocussed attention to extreme
waves and their consequences for coastal defense systems and offshore structures [76, 89, 109]. These hurricanes
created huge devastations both on land and at sea, causing many casualties and huge economic damage. A
better understanding of the consequences of these forces of nature is urgently needed. Even without hurricane
conditions, the impact of extreme waves can be a serious threat to the land behind the dikes and its inhabitants.
Also the safety and operability of offshore vessels and the well-being of their crews are jeopardized.
STW proposal: Extreme wave impact
Figure 1: Left: Damaged breakwater. Right: After hurricane Ivan, the Ensco offshore platform was found 40
miles from where it was anchored.
As indicated, hydrodynamic wave loading on structures plays an important role in areas such as coastal
protection, harbour design, offshore constructions (production and offloading platforms, offshore wind farms),
and mooring systems. In these areas there is a need for knowledge on the prediction and predictability of
hydrodynamic loading, which can be required up to a very detailed level (max./min. pressures, duration of
pressure peaks, shear stresses, etc.). In close cooperation with MARIN (Wageningen) and Deltares (formerly
Delft Hydraulics, Delft) two application areas are envisaged in this project. On the one hand, the simulation
methods to be developed will be applied in predicting impact forces on coastal protection structures. On
the other hand, the simulation methods will be applied to predict the wave forces on offshore platforms and
offloading vessels. Generic examples of the physical phenomena encountered are:
Wave run-up against fixed and floating platforms and coastal protection systems.
Wave impact loading on breakwaters and dikes.
Sloshing of the cargo inside the hull (e.g. LNG carriers).
Green water loading: sudden and extremely violent water motions on the deck.
The proposal will be a further step forward from the ComFLOW-2 joint-industry project (JIP) that is
currently being carried out with 20 industrial partners from the offshore industry (oil companies, ship yards,
etc.), under coordination of MARIN. Recently Deltares (then Delft Hydraulics) also joined this consortium
to cover coastal protection applications. Currently a follow-up JIP is being defined: ComFLOW-3. It will
focus on the validation of the developed numerical models for advanced engineering applications by improved
functionality and speed-up of the algorithms. The forelying proposal will be strongly intertwined with the
ComFLOW-3 project.
1.3
Summary in Dutch
Onderzoek
Extreme golven en hun belasting op vaste en drijvende objecten, zoals productie- en overslagplatforms, kustbeschermingswerken en offshore windturbine parken, konden lange tijd uitsluitend met experimentele methoden
worden bestudeeerd. De complexe en sterk niet-lineaire golfdynamica kon niet worden voorspeld met bestaande
numerieke simulatietechnieken (CFD). Echter, recent onderzoek door de partners in dit voorstel heeft getoond
dat nieuwe hydrodynamische modellen gebaseerd op de NavierStokes vergelijkingen, in combinatie met een op
VOF gebaseerde methode voor de evolutie van het wateroppervlak, deze verschijnselen wel kunnen beschrijven.
In twee voorgaande projecten is hiervoor een twee-fase model ontwikkeld; goede vooruitgang is geboekt in het
voorspellen van golfkrachten bij verschijnselen als klotsen, groen-water belasting en oplopende golven. Ook
het luchtkusseneffect van ingesloten luchtbellen vormt onderdeel van het model. Aan de andere kant, uit
experimenteel onderzoek is gebleken dat een aantal aspecten van het fysische en numerieke model verdere
uitbreiding en verbetering behoeven. Dit betreft fysische en wiskundige aspecten gerelateerd aan:
Extreme golven en hun voortplanting (om de aankomende golven beter te beschrijven).
Het effect van viscositeit in grenslagen (om kleinschalige stromingsdetails beter te modelleren).
Interactieve vaartuig-golf dynamica (om de gekoppelde beweging van golven en drijvende objecten te
beschrijven).
Hoewel de prioriteit in het voorstel ligt bij een nauwkeurige beschrijving van de genoemde verschijnselen, d.w.z.
bij de functionaliteit van het model, is voor dagelijks gebruik ook rekentijd van belang. Een verdere activiteit
behelst daarom:
Versnellen van de rekenmethode door lokale roosterverfijning (om het aantal benodigde roosterpunten te
beperken) en parallellisatie.
Het voorstel concentreert zich op deze belangrijke complexe modelleeraspecten, en op de implementatie daarvan
op moderne multi-processor rekenapparatuur. Daarnaast maakt experimentele validatie op bovengenoemde
fysische aspecten deel uit van het voorstel.
Utilisatie
De orkanen Ivan, Katrina en Rita in 2004/2005 hebben de aandacht hernieuwd voor extreme golven en hun gevolgen voor kustbescherming en offshore constructies [76, 89, 109]. Deze orkanen leidden tot zware verwoestingen,
zowel aan land als op zee, met veel slachtoffers en grote economische schade. Een beter begrip van de gevolgen van dit natuurgeweld is dringend vereist. Zelfs zonder orkaangeweld kunnen extreme golven een serieuze
bedreiging vormen voor het land achter de dijken en zijn bewoners. Ook de veiligheid en inzetbaarheid van
offshore platforms en vaartuigen, evenals de gezondheid van hun bemanning, kan in gevaar worden gebracht.
Zoals geschetst speelt hydrodynamische golfbelasting een belangrijke rol bij kustbescherming, havenontwerp,
offshore constructies (productie- en overslagplatforms, offshore windparken) en aanlegsystemen. Op deze terreinen bestaat grote behoefte aan meer kennis over het voorspellen van de optredende golfkrachten en golfbelastingen. Soms is deze nodig tot op gedetailleerd niveau (maximum en minimum drukken, duur van drukpieken,
schuifspanningen, etc.). In samenwerking met het MARIN (Wageningen) en Deltares (vroeger Delft Hydraulics,
Delft) bestudeert dit voorstel twee toepassingsgebieden. Aan de ene kant zal de te ontwikkelen simulatiemethode worden gebruikt bij het voorspellen van golfkrachten en -belastingen op kustbeschermingswerken. Aan
de andere kant wordt de methode ingezet bij het voorspellen van hydrodynamische krachten en belastingen op
offshore platforms en aanlandingsvaartuigen. Voorbeelden van de te bestuderen verschijnselen zijn:
Golfoploop tegen vaste en drijvende platforms en kustwerken.
Golfkrachten op strekdammen en dijken.
Klotsen van vloeibare lading (bijv. in LNG tankers).
Groen-water belasting: grote hoeveelheid overslaand water op het dek.
Het voorstel vormt een volgende stap na het ComFLOW-2 joint-industry project (JIP) dat de afgelopen
jaren is uitgevoerd met 20 industriele partners uit de offshore industrie (oliemaatschappijen, scheepswerven,
etc.), onder coordinatie van het MARIN. Onlangs is ook Deltares (destijds Delft Hydraulics) toegetreden tot
dit consortium. Momenteel wordt een vervolg JIP gedefinieerd: ComFLOW-3. Het richt zich op de verdere
ontwikkeling en validatie van simulatiemethoden voor genoemde technologische toepassingen door middel van
verbeterde functionaliteit en versnelling van de onderliggende modellen en algoritmes. Het voorliggende voorstel
is sterk verweven met dit ComFLOW-3 project.
Research group
The proposed project will be carried out in a close cooperation between the group Ship Hydrodynamics at
TU Delft (headed by prof.dr.ir. R.H.M. Huijsmans), and the group Computational Mechanics and Numerical
Mathematics at the University of Groningen (headed by prof.dr. A.E.P. Veldman). Both groups take part in
the J.M. Burgerscentrum, the Dutch graduate school for fluid dynamics.
Furthermore, the Maritime Research Institute MARIN in Wageningen and the hydrodynamic group of
Deltares in Delft will contribute substantially to algorithm development and validation. The major experiments
are carried out at MARIN. The overall project manager will be prof.dr. A.E.P. Veldman. For a further subdivision of the tasks carried out by the team members we refer to Section 3.6.2.

The main contributors to the project are:
name
University of Groningen:
prof.dr. A.E.P. Veldman
PhD vacancy
PhD vacancy
post-doc (dr.ir. R. Luppes)
dr.ir. K.W.A. Lust
dr.ir. R.W.C.P. Verstappen
dr.ir. F.W. Wubs
affiliation
funding
% fte
task
RUG
RUG
RUG
RUG
RUG
RUG
RUG
RUG
STW
STW
STW/industry
RUG
RUG
RUG
20%
100%
100%
100%
5%
5%
5%
project manager; supervisor CFD

viscous flow modelling
numerical efficiency
interactive body motion; software mgmt.
consultant code implementation
consultant turbulent CFD
consultant parallel solvers
TU Delft:
prof.dr.ir. R.H.M. Huijsmans
PhD vacancy
TUD
TUD
TUD
STW
10%
100%
supervisor hydrodynamics
wave propagation
GTIs:
dr.ir. T.H.J. Bunnik
dr.ir. G. Vaz
dr.ir. M. Borsboom
TBD
MARIN
MARIN
Deltares
Deltares
MARIN
MARIN
Deltares
Deltares
30%
5%
20%
7%
model tests; body motion; extreme waves

turbulence modelling
GABC, wave modeling, CFD
consultant waves/CFD
A highly experienced candidate for the post-doc position is available: dr.ir. R. Luppes. He is currently employed
in the ComFLOW-2 project, where he contributes to algorithm development and to software management
(support of developers and users, version control, etc.).
3
3.1
3.1.1
Scientific description
Research objectives
Problem statement and global approach
The 2004/2005 hurricanes Ivan, Katrina and Rita in the Gulf of Mexico have dramatically refocussed attention
to extreme waves and their consequences for coastal defense systems and offshore structures [76, 89, 109]. These
hurricanes created huge devastations both on land and at sea, causing many casualties and enormous economic
damage. Thus a better understanding of these forces of nature is urgently needed. The Netherlands have a
long tradition in taming the sea, with much expertise on coastal protection collected in Deltares (formerly Delft
Hydraulics), whereas much experience in offshore engineering is gathered at MARIN.
Waves and currents can induce large forces and stresses on and near hydraulic structures. The hydrodynamic load is responsible for unwanted effects such as vibrations and fatigue, damage to the revetment of both
structures and their base, and scour around structures [102]. For example, the principal forces that sea dikes
and other coastal defence systems have to cope with are the forces due to wave impact, which can be very large.
The revetment of sea dikes has to be designed such that it withstands the strong forces that may occur during
a severe storm. Other important phenomena are wave run-up and overtopping, but also the wave-induced flow
patterns near, e.g., intake and outlet structures. Insight in these issues plays an essential roll in studies on
safety, water quality, economic operation and maintanance, and optimization of design. In the Netherlands,
substantial investments are involved when it concerns the protection of the land against the sea.
Similar issues apply to the safety of sea-going vessels and offshore constructions (production and offloading
platforms, wind mill parks) which have to operate under extreme weather conditions [86]. The Discovery
Channel television series Deadliest Catch has recorded several instances of the power of nature, e.g. the
capsizing of the Aleutian Ballad due to a 60-foot rogue wave [62]. In these heavy storms, wave and vessel
motions can become so large that solid amounts of (green-colored) seawater flow over the deck of a ship. This
problem is known as green water loading, as distinguished from white water consisting of spray and foam.
Green water is considered a serious threat to the safety and operability of naval and merchant vessels. Captain
D. MacIntyre described the situation during The Battle of the Atlantic [94]:
Their hulls whipped and shuddered in the huge Atlantic seas... solid green water swept destructively
along their decks... For hour after hour this process repeated itself. Damage mounted, hull plates
splitting, boats being smashed, men swept overboard and delicate anti-submarine devices put out of
order....
At present these phenomena are mainly studied experimentally, and the results are used for the formulation
of design rules. There is a growing need for a numerical simulation tool capable of predicting in detail the
hydrodynamic load due to waves and currents, and its effect at and near structures (see e.g. [42, 72, 95]). A
numerical model has the advantage that a simulation can quickly be adapted to small changes in geometry or
conditions, that scaling effects can be avoided, and that detailed insight in the hydrodynamic processes can be
obtained. The instantaneous availability of a numerical model is another important advantage.
The tools currently available are hardly capable of predicting such events to an acceptable level of accuracy,
as these tools largely depend on the application of simple models based on e.g. linear potential flow theory
or shallow-water theory. In contrast, the physical phenomena accompanying extreme events are both highly
non-linear and highly dispersive due to the occurring wave steepness, and require new methods as a basis for
the prediction of the water flow and it induced hydrodynamic loads.
The mathematical model for complex water flow dates from the first half of the 19th century already and is
known as the NavierStokes equations. However, it is only for about a decade that these field equations can be
solved for large-scale complex free-surface flow problems, thanks to novel numerical algorithms and the increase
in computer power. This is an important development; in the near future it should provide, besides model
testing, an additional tool for design problems involving these types of flows. This numerical tool is relatively
cheap (in comparison with the operational costs of a model basin), therefore it can be used in an early stage of
the design process.
In this research project it is proposed to apply a hydrodynamic flow model based on the NavierStokes
equations to simulate the steep waves near, at and around fixed and floating structures, e.g. offshore platforms
and coastal breakwaters. The evolution of the free water surface is described by an adapted and (highly)
improved version of the Volume-of-Fluid method (VOF) designed originally by Hirt and Nichols [87]. Specifically,
use will be made of the ComFLOW code developed at the University of Groningen (RUG) and described in
full detail in the, on-line available, PhD theses of Gerrits [6], Fekken [4], Kleefsman [12] and Wemmenhove [33].
A global description can be found in the journal papers [13, 23].
3.1.2
History and background
Spacecraft dynamics The first steps towards the development of the free-surface simulation method ComFLOW were made in the late seventies, when Veldman and his colleagues at the National Aerospace Laboratory
NLR were studying the influence of liquid propellant (or other liquids) onboard spacecraft. This resulted in the
Savof code [25]. It was already in this period that the first contacts were made with Deltares (then WL Delft
Hydraulics), who extended the NLR-developed simulation method Savof (still two-dimensional) to study wave
impact against coastal protection systems (dikes, etc.): this resulted in the Skylla code [5355, 58]. Later, in
the mid-nineties the development of free-surface simulation methods was continued at RUG (Veldmans current
employer) to create a method for fully three-dimensional flow; see e.g. [610]. One of the highlights, early 2005,
was the flight of the experiment satellite Sloshsat FLEVO. With this NLR-built spacecraft a large series of
experiments concerning liquid sloshing under micro-gravity were performed [17, 18, 23].
Under micro-gravity, capillary effects at the free liquid surface are dominantly present. Since these effects
are proportional to the curvature of the liquid surface, high accuracy requirements are put on the description
and displacement of the free surface. To meet these requirements, the original VOF treatment for reconstruction
and movement of the free surface (with its considerable amount of flotsam and jetsam; see Fig. 7) has been
extensively redesigned. The use of a local height function was found to be crucial [6].
Maritime applications In the late nineties, MARIN learned of the micro-gravity applications at RUG with
their dynamic free-surface motion. The idea came up to test this approach for violent wave motion at sea. The
cooperation between RUG and MARIN started in 1998 with an MSc project concerning green water loading,
where a fixed bow was subjected to a simplified green water event [3, 5]. This project was later continued
as a MARIN-funded PhD project, where the physics was extended to include the coupled dynamics between
the incoming water and the vessel motion [4, 45]. In 2000 the EU-funded SAFE-FLOW JIP (Joint Industry
Project) on hydrodynamic wave loading was defined. Here, the ComFLOW development was co-supported by a
world-wide consortium of offshore-related companies. The project was aimed at identification of major physical
phenomena relevant for the effects occurring during extreme wave events and to draw conclusions regarding
potentially successful (numerical) methods of analyses. As a model testcase for green water research, the first
(one-phase) dambreak results were produced, as shown in Fig. 2. Further results can be found in the PhD thesis
of Kleefsman [12], and several publications [1315, 22, 24, 4648, 50, 56, 59, 60].
As a follow-up, in 2004 the ComFLOW-2 JIP was started; it was partly funded by STW (project GWI.6433).
1 phase ComFLOW
2 phase ComFLOW
experiment
6000
Pressure level (Pa)
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1000
0
3
time (s)
Figure 2: Water impact against an obstacle in a dambreak setting: experiment (left) versus computation
(right). The middle figure shows a comparison between measured and computed pressure at the front of the box.
The two-phase model developed in ComFLOW-2 clearly improves the, spikey, one-phase results.
In this project the functionality of the simulation method was enlarged, as described in Section 3.2.1 below.
Since then, several industrial participants have actively been using the ComFLOW program; for a list we
refer to Section 4.2. A large number of publications has resulted [21, 23, 3141, 43, 44, 49, 51, 52, 57]. From the
scientific point of view, two PhD theses emerge: Wemmenhove has defended his thesis on May 16 at RUG [33];
Wellens at TUD is expected to defend his thesis early 2009.
Animations Animations of ComFLOW applications can be found at the website [1].
3.1.3
Numerical framework
ComFLOW belongs to the class of Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) methods. It solves the NavierStokes equations
on a staggered grid [84], where for each computational cell the VOF-function indicates which fraction of it
is filled with liquid [87]. In principle, this method is strictly mass conserving, which is highly relevant in our
applications. This is in contrast to the level-set method [103], which is popular in other types of applications
where mass conservation is not an important issue.
The computational grid is chosen rectangular; the simplicity of the grid gives an easy geometric framework
in which the position and slope of the surface can be accurately described. On unstructured grids always some
kind of smearing of the surface is necessary to describe the position of the free liquid surface. This creates a
spongy surface, which will reduce peak pressures during impact. In our application (prediction of wave forces)
this is not acceptable.
Rectangular (Cartesian) grids can be generated easily, and allow simpler data structures enabling easier
development. Further, bodies can move freely through the grid. The body description is also of VOF-type,
which keeps the shape of the body crisp. Note that an immersed boundary treatment [97] would smear out
the body, which again will suppress pressure peaks. Also, collisions of bodies are allowed, without the grids
being squeezed in between; the latter would have been the case when boundary conforming grids were used. A
drawback may be that due to the non-boundary conforming character, the resolution of viscous boundary layers
requires additional attention. However, sufficiently powerful cut-cell techniques [2] are available in combination
with local refinement.
pressure P1, sloshing 10%, irregular motion
15000
pressure (Pa)
1 phase ComFLOW
2 phase ComFLOW
Experiment
10000
5000
0
139
139.5
140
140.5
141
141.5
142
time (s)
Figure 3: Sloshing: entrapped air in experiment (left); validation of pressure signal (right).
3.2
3.2.1
Scientific and technological steps forward made in ComFLOW-2

Functionality
The scope of work of the ComFLOW-2 initiative was determined in close cooperation with the participants. At
the end of the ComFLOW-2 project, in spring 2008, the following has been achieved:
1. The interaction between water and air has been included in the ComFLOW program: two-phase flow.
Two-phase modelling makes it possible to study for example the cushioning effect of entrapped air during
wave impacts related to sloshing in LNG tanks [39, 51]. It required the development of a special type
of discrete density averaging formulas near the free surface (see Section 3.2.3). Figure 3 shows the clear
improvement in force (pressure) prediction that is obtained with two-phase modelling.
2. A new type of generating and absorbing boundary conditions (GABC) has been developed for the inflow
and outflow boundaries. These are transparent for the incident waves and absorb the outgoing waves at
the same time. This functionality makes it possible to place the boundaries close to the object, thereby
reducing the computational time considerably (see Sections 3.2.3 and 3.3.1).
Figure 4: Interactive motions of Snorre tension leg platform: model test and simulation (StatoilHydro [57]).
3. An interactive coupling between fluid forces, floater motions and mooring systems has been implemented.
Fig. 4 shows a simulation of the Statoil Snorre tension leg platform. The algorithmic coupling is fully
implicit (with subcycling inside each time step) and, hence, stable. However, it cannot be used yet in
conjunction with (binary) third-party codes for the body motion, as then only information exchange per
time step is possible (see Section 3.3.4).
3.2.2
Model tests
Figure 5: Validation model tests carried out during the ComFLOW-2 initiative. From left to right: sloshing,
wave run-up and CALM buoy motion.
In the ComFLOW-2 project, a well documented and accurate set of validation data has been obtained by
means of model tests (Fig. 5):
a) Sloshing in an LNG tank (1:10 scale).
b) Wave run-up on a semi-submersible.
c) Hydrodynamic loads and motion response of a CALM (catenary anchor leg mooring) buoy in extreme
waves.
The first validation studies have already been carried out, in particular for the sloshing experiment shown in
Fig. 3 [23, 38, 39]. Also some preliminary studies of the wave run-up have been made; see Fig. 6 [31, 32]. Much
experimental data is still waiting to be analyzed for validation purposes in the ComFLOW-3 project.
water height WH17, wave runup test 202003
x 10
pressure P11, wave runup test 202003

2 phase ComFLOW
experiment
5
10
pressure (Pa)
water height (m)
4
ComFLOW 2 phase
Experiment
1
5
10
15
time (s)
20
0
0
25
10
15
20
25
time (s)
Figure 6: Validation of forces on semi-submersible: water height (middle) and pressure (right)
3.2.3
Algorithmic innovations in ComFLOW-2
Application of, seemingly well-established, numerical techniques to realistic flow problems often ruthlessly reveals any flaw in the numerical treatment. In the development of ComFLOW the situation was not much
different. Thus, at several places inside the algorithm, numerical building stones had to be redesigned at a quite
fundamental level. We mention some of these innovative highlights.
Local height function As mentioned above, the VOF method does suffer from flotsam and jetsam, i.e.
loose droplets that separate from the liquid surface as a numerical artefact of the liquid displacement algorithm.
This also leads to (sometimes serious) loss of mass, although in theory VOF is fully mass conserving. To
suppress these unwanted effects a local height function was successfully introduced [6, 12] (Fig. 7). Recently,
this approach has also appeared elsewhere in the literature, e.g. [61, 70, 77].
0.7
0.69
0.68
water volume (m3)
0.67
0.66
0.65
0.64
0.63
0.62
0.61
0.6
0
original VOF
VOF with local height function
1
3
time (s)
Figure 7: Flotsam and jetsam after a dambreak calculation without (left) and with (right) a local height
function. The middle figure shows the mass loss.
Generating and absorbing boundary conditions GABCs and other non-reflecting boundary conditions
for some generic variable are often based on a Sommerfeld-type condition: t + c()x = 0, which works fine
when the propagation speed c of the waves (a function of the wavenumber ) is known [78]. However, in deeper
water dispersion sets in, and any wave becomes a complex mixture of several simple wave components, each
propagating at its own dispersive wave speed. In ComFLOW-2, a novel idea has been introduced to determine
local wave velocities. The first observation is that a vertical wave profile can be written as = C1 ez +C2 ez .
The next step is to recognize that 2 = zz /. The dispersion relation gives the wave velocity c as a function of
the wavenumber , and the latter observation makes it a function of zz /. Herewith the Sommerfeld condition
becomes
p
(1)
t + c ( zz /) x = 0.
It is solved implicitly in all terms involving , which does require some rewriting and approximation of this
expression. This approach has been developed in close cooperation with Delft Hydraulics (presently part of
Deltares) and is believed to be new. For details we refer to the forthcoming PhD thesis of Wellens at TU Delft.
Gravity-consistent discretization Two-phase calculations have to deal with a discrete treatment of the
density, which varies significantly between the two phases. In grid points near the free surface some form of
density averaging has to be used. These averaging formulas may lead to (sometimes large) unphysical velocities,
often called spurious or parasitic currents [70, 77, 85, 93, 98]. Their origin can be understood by considering an
equilibrium configuration, with zero velocity, where a balance exists between body force (F) and pressure
gradient, i.e.
1
grad p = F
grad p = F
0 = curl(F).
(2)
The right-most equality also should hold in the discrete approximation, and herewith puts a requirement on
the way in which is averaged. When F denotes gravity, averaging formulas for that satisfy this requirement
are called gravity-consistent. In most of the literature, the spurious currents are damped with some form of
diffusion, or with other suppression techniques. However, explicit mentioning of the above requirement (2) that
fully prevents these unwanted currents is scarce, although some authors are close, e.g. [77].
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0.5
1.5
Figure 8: The effect of the gravity-consistent density averaging in a sloshing simulation. Left the usual
approach; right the newly developed approach.
3.3
Research areas in ComFLOW-3
The presentation in Section 3.2 shows clearly that the ComFLOW code has evolved into a powerful basic
computational tool for pursuing the challenges of violent weather-induced marine and coastal applications.
Therefore, the ComFLOW-2 JIP partners are investigating a follow-up for a joint further development. It will
still have a clear research character (step by step discovery of new fields and thorough validation of results), but
there will also be a strong focus on the usability of the developed tool and the speed-up of the computations as
well. The objective of this ComFLOW-3 JIP is:
To further improve, develop and validate the ComFLOW program for complex free-surface flows in
the offshore industry and make it useable for advanced engineering applications by improved functionality and speed-up of the algorithms.
In a recent progress meeting with the industrial participants (November 2007, Gyeongju, Korea), a number
of areas were identified where major improvements were highly desirable to be pursued in the ComFLOW-3
project:
1. GABCs for all wave-current combinations.
2. Less dissipative wave propagation.
3. Combined wave-type and viscous effects.
4. Interactive body motions.
5. Numerical efficiency.
Thus, in the present proposal, it is intended to further enhance and validate the functionality of the simulation
method with respect to the above-mentioned aspects. We will discuss each of these aspects in more detail below.
3.3.1
Generating and absorbing wave-current boundary conditions
Extreme waves and current Only limited knowledge is available with respect to the modelling of extreme
steep waves, sometimes called freak waves. Experiments in a laboratory environment [110] have shown that the
10
effect of current profiles and or bi-directional current is important. Wave groups whose bandwidth is narrower
or spectral slope is steeper can have higher limiting wave steepness. Furthermore, when a wave group meets
strong opposing currents that block high frequency wave components and steepens the spectral slope, the local
geometric steepness and front-and-rear asymmetry at the breaking onset increase remarkably. The study [112]
shows that the steepness of unsteady, incipient breaking waves is altered by the sign and magnitude of current
shear (or vorticity). A current with a positive shear, as would be the case in a wind-driven current, reduces the
steepness of an unsteady incipient breaking wave. A negatively sheared current, such as the jet-like ebb current
at a tide inlet, leads to steeper incipient breaking waves. It is proposed to model this effect of the current on
the formation of freak waves by using the method developed by Van Groesen [63, 82, 83].
GABC The newly developed Generating and Absorbing Boundary Condition (GABC) (see Section 3.2.3)
is intended to absorb waves at the inflow and outflow boundaries, and to generate irregular waves at the
inflow boundary simultaneously. At the end of the ComFLOW-2 project the method is working well for low
(two-dimensional) waves propagating perpendicular to the boundary. The GABC will be extended to (threedimensional) short-crested outgoing waves and waves coming from different directions. Further, its ability to
handle non-linear waves will be improved. Also, the GABC will be made suitable to include the effects of
stationary currents.
3.3.2
Less dissipative wave propagation
Diffraction methods, based on potential flow theory and boundary integral formulations, do a good job in
propagating waves without too much numerical damping. However, they are restricted to (approximately)
linear flow regimes. The ability of field methods (like the NavierStokes VOF approach in ComFLOW) to
describe arbitrary non-linear wave motion comes with a price: the methods that are used to follow the freesurface evolution introduce spurious dissipation [101]. Several sources of wave dissipation can be distinguished:
i) physical viscosity, ii) artificial viscosity due to discretisation of the momentum equations, and iii) the freesurface displacement algorithm. Due to items ii) and iii), the waves damp out faster than they would in
reality.
The damping becomes more pronounced for steep waves. This not only influences the wave propagation
itself, but also effects such as local wave run-up. Our ambition is to reduce the damping to at most 3% of the
height over one wavelength for all waves up to the break limit. Hereto, the use of higher-order schemes like
WENO [92] or CIP [111] may prove fruitful. We will investigate this in combination with adaptations in the
free-surface displacement algorithm. Currently, the pressure and velocity at the new time level are updated
according to the liquid position at the old time level. It is believed that this lag in time may be responsible for
an overdose of damping; a more implicit treatment of the free-surface position will be developed.
3.3.3
Combined wave-type and viscous effects
Until now, the ComFLOW projects have primarily focussed on extreme wave effects that were highly momentum
driven and in which effects of viscosity were of relatively small importance. Therefore, boundary layers and
turbulent dissipation have had no real attention yet. However, there are several applications in which the effect
of viscosity, possibly in combination with wave effects, becomes important. In the ComFLOW-3 project the
following applications will be considered:
a. Wave interaction effects between floaters in close proximity (for example side-by-side offloading or offshore
discharge).
b. Sloshing in moonpools (openings in the deck through which the drilling rig passes into the sea).
c. Roll damping (in waves) and the effect of bilge keels (to stabilize the ship).
d. Seabed and wall friction (e.g. to describe scouring).
With these applications, a first step will be made towards realistic modelling of viscous flows in ComFLOW.
The number of grid points required will increase to have sufficient grid resolution of the relevant (turbulent)
flow details, making the increase of numerical efficiency (Section 3.3.5) more urgent. In the last decade much
progress has been made in this respect. A new discretization paradigm has appeared in which discretization
is not tuned to minimizing local truncation error, but instead wants to preserve the most important analytical
properties of the original differential operators. In particular, convection is a process that distributes energy to
other (smaller) length scales thus creating turbulence but convection does not destroy or create energy. In
mathematical terms it is a skew-symmetric operator, and this property should also be present in its discrete
approximation. It turns out that such a symmetry-preserving discretization can deal with much coarser and
11
much more irregular grids than the more traditional methods [2628, 71, 107]. For flow cases where the grid
resolution remains insufficient, the use of partial-slip boundary conditions, as a surrogate shear-layer model,
will be investigated.
The same philosophy can be used in designing turbulence models [11, 29]; again numerical and model diffusion
should not interfere with the convective energy cascade. In this way, it appears possible to achieve the quality of
Reynolds-averaged (RANS) calculations (or even LES) on grids that are much coarser than before. We expect
that with this approach the influence of viscosity in our the engineering applications envisaged in the project
can be simulated on grids that are quite affordable in terms of computer time and memory.
3.3.4
Interactive body motions
The impact of waves against a ship is obviously highly dependent on the momentary position and motion of
the ships bow: is the bow low in the water and going up, or does it rise high above the waves. This position
strongly depends on the foregoing waves, and as such the whole wave group determines whether a special wave
event will be harmful or not. The calculation of interactive (floating) body motion requires the coupling of flow
solver and motion solver. A hierarchical (or weak) coupling between these solvers, i.e. once per time step, will
not always suffice, in particular when there is a large ratio between mass and (hydrodynamic) added mass. Thus
the use of a strong (preferably simultaneous) numerical coupling is required. When multiple floating bodies are
present, such as in side-by-side moored vessels, large flexibility of the approach is required.
In the ComFLOW-2 JIP a first step has been made with an interactive coupling between the fluid forces
and the floater motion response. Because in this case the floater motion equations are relatively simple, they
could be added to the inner-most loop of the ComFLOW time step (subcycling), achieving effectively a fully
simultaneous (hence stable) coupling. When (often binary) black-box software is used, only a weak coupling
can be achieved with information exchange once per time step. Such an approach is not always stable. A way
to overcome this problem is the application of a quasi-simultaneous coupling, where inside the flow solver a
simple approximating model of the floater dynamics module is solved simultaneously with the flow. The weak
coupling then only has to cope with the difference between the exact dynamics model and its approximation;
with a suitable choice for the latter stability can be achieved. This type of approach is being used already for a
quarter of century in aerodynamic problems [20, 66, 67], but it has not yet been applied in maritime problems.
As a special deliverable of the project, MARIN will make an interactive coupling between a module to
compute dynamic mooring line loads and ComFLOW.
3.3.5
Improved numerical efficiency
The computation times for a ComFLOW run can be considerable. Especially for three-dimensional simulations
a computation can take several days on a modern PC. Inclusion of viscous effects, with its finer grids, may
further increase these computation times. Thus, in order to make ComFLOW useful for advanced engineering
applications a significant speed-up of the program is necessary. Several ways exist to achieve this. We will focus
on the following actions:
1. Decreasing the size of the computational domain through more accurate GABCs.
2. Decreasing the number of grid points through local refinement and/or more advanced discretization.
3. Application of faster sparse-matrix solvers.
4. More efficient implementation including parallelisation.
The ambition of the project is to reduce the computational time by at least a factor 2 by means of each of the
numerical actions 1, 2 and 3, and by a factor 4 (out of 8 cores) by means of parallelisation (action 4).
Ad 1. GABC The development of GABC to decrease the size of the computational domain has been described
in Section 3.3.1.
Ad 2. Local grid refinement and advanced discretization ComFLOW applies a structured rectangular Cartesian grid. When small objects need to be modelled, this influences the grid spacing in the entire fluid domain.
Therefore, it is not possible to model geometries that are small compared to the length scales of the waves without seriously increased computational effort. Examples are wave loads on slender structures like deck girders
and subsea structures in the splash zone (Fig. 9), and hydrodynamic loads on bilge keels.
The idea is to borrow from the vast literature on locally refined quadtree/octree grids. A general drawback
of these methods is the loss of structure in the grid, especially when a staggered discretization is used. The
12
bookkeeping and interpolation required to cope herewith do consume significant computational overhead. Further, there is as yet little experience with moving a free liquid surface across a refinement boundary. Thus, near
such refinement boundaries unwanted wave reflections may appear, destroying the accuracy of the calculations.
Here the use of a symmetry-preserving discretization (see Section 3.3.3) will be quite profitable [16]. If the
consequences of the local grid refinement will turn out to be unacceptable (implementation too complex, loss of
accuracy too large, insufficient parallel performance) alternative refinement techniques will be considered, like
for example domain decomposition.
Figure 9: Left: Wave loads on slender structures (Ekofisk); right: Subsea structure in the splash zone.
Ad 3. Faster matrix solvers Until recently, ComFLOW used a Successive Over Relaxation (SOR) method
with automatically optimized relaxation factor to solve the pressure Poisson equation [64]. On vectorcomputers
it runs upto 75% of the theoretical top speed, which makes it very tough for more advanced methods (multigrid, Krylov subspace) to compete. However, the density discontinuity across the free surface in two-phase flow,
and the symmetry-destroying properties of the Generating and Absorbing Boundary Condition (GABC, see
Section 3.3.1) cause slow convergence of this method. Therefore, other solvers like Bi-CGSTAB [108] or IDR
[104], possibly preconditioned with multi-grid, will be investigated. A peculiarity of the system is created by the
Generating and Absorbing Boundary Condition (GABC, see Section 3.3.1). The occurrence of the second-order
z-derivative in (1) enlarges the usual seven-point stencil for which most iterative solution methods have been
developed. Thus, for this unusual stencil a dedicated iterative solver has to be specially designed, while at the
same time keeping in mind its parallelisation properties (Ad 4).
Ad 4. Parallelisation Parallelisation is another option to speed-up the ComFLOW computation. We choose
to port the code to cheap shared memory multiprocessors (e.g. 4 quad core, 64 Gb), on which parallelisation
is done via smart compiler options and OpenMP. The scientific challenge lies in the development of a parallel
almost-Poisson solver that can handle the time-varying irregular matrix structure due to moving liquid and
objects, due to local grid refinement (Ad 2) and due to the unusual stencil induced by the GABC (Ad 3).
3.3.6
Overview of algorithmic and modelling challenges
In order to reach the above new functionality and improved efficiency, several basic algorithmic and modelling
building blocks have to be devised. For an overview of these scientific innovations, we list them here once more
(between parentheses the workpackage where they are tackled; see Section 3.6.2):
GABC for extreme waves in three dimensions including the influence of current (WP 1).
A wave-consistent free-surface displacement algorithm (WP 1).
Symmetry-preserving turbulence modelling in combination with free-surface flow (WP 2).
Partial-slip boundary conditions in a cut-cell setting (WP 2).
A quasi-simultaneous coupling approach for liquid-body dynamics (WP 3).
Local grid refinement in the presence of a free surface crossing the refinement interface (WP 4).
A parallel Poisson solver that can cope with the GABC-induced irregularity in the matrix entries (WP 4).
3.4
13
Validation
Model tests Extensive and well documented model test datasets have been obtained in the ComFLOW-2
project (see Section 3.2.2). Focus in the ComFLOW-3 project is on further development and extension of
functionality, using where possible these existing model test data for validation and benchmarking. A part of
the JIP budget will be reserved for an additional series of model tests. The present STW application will also
include a limited set of specific model tests for areas that are being newly developed, in particular devoted to
flow phenomena where viscosity plays a visible role. Amongst others, particle induced velocimetry (PIV) will
be used to measure the velocity fields. Possible options for the experiments are:
a. Wave effects between floaters in close proximity.
b. Moonpool sloshing.
c. Roll damping and the effect of bilge keels
Also model tests will be carried out that study extreme waves, short-crested waves and waves in stationary
current. MARIN is responsible for defining and carrying out these tests. Their precise scope will be determined
during the project, in close cooperation with the participants.
Benchmarking A very important item in the ComFLOW-3 project is the benchmarking and validation of
the ComFLOW program. This will be the primary task of FORCE Technology and will guarantee the quality
of each new ComFLOW version that will be delivered to the participants. We will discuss this issue in more
detail in the utilisation plan in Section 4.3.
3.5
Software development and user support
In a large project the integrity of the software used is of utmost importance. The development team has to
add new functionality to an existing code, which implies that they must understand the structure of the source
code and the meaning of many subroutines and variables. Daily assistence should be available, not only on the
software side but also on the algorithmic side (choice of flow model including boundary conditions, choice of
discretization, etc.).
Further, every year an updated version of the code will be released. Therefore much attention has to be paid
to keep the software under control. A clear modular structure is required, such that adaptations and extensions
only influence a limited part of the code. Strict version management (e.g. CVS) has to be maintained, and user
manuals must be kept up-to-date.
The number of active users of the ComFLOW program is growing. Thereto training sessions (workshops)
will be organized for users to become acquainted with the code. Nevertheless, users will inevitably run into
problems, be it with understanding the user manuals or with bugs in the code. Also they may request new
functionality, for instance in the postprocessing of the simulation results.
The above activities require a thorough knowledge of the code and its embedded simulation algorithm;
they have to be carried out by a ComFLOW connaisseur. A candidate for performing this task is available:
dr.ir. R. Luppes. He has a long-year experience in developing the code for various applications in maritime
engineering, spacecraft technology and cell biology [1719, 23, 34, 3739].
3.6
3.6.1
Project organization
Personnel and equipment
The research project will be executed by three PhD students (two at RUG and one at TUD) and one 4-year
post-doc (at RUG). Their funding is requested from STW, with industry co-funding part (0.2 fte/yr) of the
post-doc appointment. The supervisors at RUG and TUD are funded by their respective universities.
Also a signficant financial contribution to the project will be made by MARIN and Deltares. They will
provide a corresponding in-kind contribution in manhours.
Equipment and supporting manpower to carry out the experiments for validation of the simulation model
is available at MARIN.
3.6.2
Workpackages
The above mentioned activities have been grouped into workpackages. In most of these workpackages a combined
effort is made by several project partners. The individual workpackages are discussed below, including a global
time planning.
14
Workpackage 1: Wave generation and propagation

Task
Carried out by
Planning
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Funding
Sections 3.3.1 and 3.3.2: Extend the GABC to three dimensions, more extreme waves and
the effects of current. Reduce the numerical damping of wave propagation.
PhD student at TU Delft; Deltares; MARIN
Deltares will make the PhD student familiar with the concept of GABCs. Extension of
the current 2D implementation to three dimensions (to cover radiated and diffracted waves
generated by a structure).
Improvement of wave propagation; modified (more implicit) free-surface displacement algorithm with local height function; Deltares will act as inspirator. Validation.
Extension of GABCs to short-crested and more extreme waves, and to the influence of
current. MARIN will deliver the extreme waves.
Validation. Preparation of PhD thesis.
STW 1 PhD; Deltares 90 ke in-kind; MARIN 50 ke in-kind.
Workpackage 2: Waves and viscous effects

Task
Carried out by
Planning
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Funding
Section 3.3.3: Model the effects of viscous shear layers and vortex shedding. More efficient
turbulence models. Partial-slip boundary conditions.
PhD student at RUG; MARIN; Deltares
Understanding the numerics of viscous shear layers. Carry out (simple) RaNS calculations
and find out the shortcomings of the present approach; MARIN will assist.
Develop and implement efficient (symmetry preserving) turbulence model. Validation.
Develop and implement higher-order discretizations (with special attention to the cut-cell
boundaries). Assessment of efficiency gain.
STW 1 PhD; MARIN 25 ke in-kind; Deltares 20 ke in-kind.
Workpackage 3: Interactive body motion

Task
Carried out by
Planning
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Funding
Section 3.3.4: Development of a flexible, yet stable, fluid-(multiple)body motion algorithm,

that can be weakly coupled to black-box dynamics software. Validation with CALM buoy
experiments. Example: dynamic mooring lines module.
0.4 post-doc at RUG; MARIN
More efficient time-integration method.
Development of unconditionally stable quasi-simultaneous coupling.
Validation. MARIN prepares module for dynamic mooring lines.
STW 0.4 pd; MARIN 100 ke in-kind.
Workpackage 4: Numerical efficiency

Task
Carried out by
Planning
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Funding
Section 3.3.5: Reduction of computational effort by local grid refinement and parallelization. Special issue is the treatment of the free surface and body movement near refinement
boundaries.
PhD student at RUG; 0.3 post-doc at RUG; Deltares
Grid refinement; discretization mass/momentum near interface.
OpenMP.
Free-surface displacement across interface. Parallel Poisson solver.
Reduction of reflections at interface. Update of parallelization.
STW 1 PhD + 0.3 pd; Deltares 15 ke in-kind.
Parallelization with
15

Workpackage 5: Model tests
Task
Carried out by
Planning
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Funding
Section 3.4: Experiments, e.g. PIV measurements, will be carried out that focus on the new
functionality of ComFLOW, such as extreme waves, effect of current and viscous effects.
MARIN
Experiments with (3D) short-crested waves.
Experiments with viscous effects.
Experiments with extreme waves and current.
Validation
STW 100 ke; JIP 150 ke; MARIN 25 ke in-kind.
Workpackage 6: Software development and user support

Task
Carried out by
Planning
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Funding
3.6.3
Section 3.5: Daily support of development team (algorithmic CFD issues) and users of
ComFLOW. Responsible for integrity of the code, its maintenance and its documentation
(user manuals, training sessions, etc.). Yearly release of updated version.
0.3 post-doc at RUG
Introduction of code to new PhD students; CFD algorithmic support.
User support and maintenance; new release.
User support and maintenance; new release.
Final release with workshop.
STW 0.1 post-doc; JIP 0.2 post-doc.
Overview
An overview of the workpackages (including funding) is presented in the table below.

workpackage
carried out by
funded by
STW
JIP
in-kind
1: Wave generation and propagation

GABC, waves on current, wave damping
Extreme wave input
AIO-TUD + Deltares
MARIN
1 PhD
90 ke
50 ke
2: Waves and viscous flow

Resolution shear layers; discretization
Turbulence modelling
AIO-RUG, Deltares
MARIN
1 PhD
20 ke
25 ke
3: Interactive body motion

Algorithm development; coupling
Application: dynamic mooring lines
0.4 pd + MARIN
MARIN
0.4 pd/yr
25 ke
75 ke
4: Numerical efficiency
Local refinement
Parallelisation; fast solver
AIO-RUG
0.3 pd + Deltares
1 PhD
0.3 pd/yr
5: Model tests and validation

Experiments in model basin
Validation
MARIN
MARIN
6: Software development and user support

Algorithmic support of development team;
code integrity; new releases
3.6.4
0.3 pd
100 ke
15 ke
150 ke
25 ke
0.1 pd/yr
0.2 pd/yr
Progress meetings
In a large project, regular progress meetings are necessary. Based on our experience in the SafeFLOW and
ComFLOW-2 projects, the following schedule for communication between the project members is planned.
The post-doc will have the daily supervision of the PhD students.
One day per week, the PhD student at Delft will be visiting Deltares (also in Delft).
The PhD students will visit MARIN when necessary.
Every two weeks there will be a progress meeting between PhD students, post-doc and project leader
(usually in Groningen). If necessary also MARIN and Deltares will attend.
Every two months a progress meeting will be held with all project members from RUG, TUD, MARIN and
Deltares (usually in Wageningen).
16
Twice a year, two weeks prior to the FPSO-week meeting (see below), a meeting of the STW User Committee wil be organized (usually in Wageningen); also our Norwegian partner FORCE will be present.
Twice a year a meeting is organized with all industrial participants in the ComFLOW-3 project; it is held
during the so-called FPSO week (see the utilisation plan in Section 4.3).
3.6.5
Milestones and deliverables
In Fig. 10 we present the global planning of the project.

It is expected that PhD students can start their research somewhere between spring 2009 and autumn 2009.
The post-doc will start July 1, 2009; until that date, he is partly financed by the ComFLOW-2 JIP. He
will take care of continuity of knowledge towards the new-to-appoint PhD students.
A more detailed description of the project activities can be found in Section 3.6.2.
Figure 10: Global planning of project.

The deliverables of the project will be as follows:
1. Yearly update of ComFLOW executable and user manual; see Section 4.3.
2. Model test report and model test data.
3. Validation and benchmarking reports.
4. Methods to generate extreme waves (memo, software tool).
5. Dynamic mooring line module, linked to ComFLOW (executable).
6. Scientific publications and presentations in journals and on conferences (OMAE, ISOPE, etc.).
7. PhD theses.
3.7
17
Available infrastructure and embedding in research groups
University of Groningen The work carried out at the University of Groningen will be supervised by prof.dr.
A.E.P. Veldman, who heads the research group on Computational Mechanics and Numerical Mathematics in the
Institute of Mathematics and Computing Science. The group consists of one associate professor, two assistant
professors and one post-doc. Currently the number of PhD students is 7 (most of them externally funded),
whereas the number of MSc students averages around 5 students per year.
The research of the group concentrates on the numerical simulation of fluid dynamics and transport phenomena (Computational Fluid Dynamics CFD). On the one hand research is focussed on basic advancement of
numerical algorithms; on the other hand - through extensive cooperation with external research groups - these
methods are made available to advance knowledge in other (applied) areas of science and technology. Areas of
special attention are: turbulent flow, free-surface flow and sparse-matrix solvers. Applications of our research
are pursued e.g. in maritime engineering, oceanography, aerodynamics, space technology and biomedical engineering. Many contacts exist with Dutch industry (including small enterprises), the Dutch large technological
institutes (Deltares, ECN/NRG, MARIN and NLR), and various (non-mathematics) groups at universities.
Technical University Delft The work carried out at TU Delft will be under the guidance of prof.dr.ir. R.H.M.
Huijsmans, professor of Ship Hydromechanics and Structures in the department of Marine and Transport Technology. Apart from the section leader prof. dr.ir. R.H.M.Huijsmans, the group consists one part time professor
Ship Resistance and Propulsion, 2 associate professor, 4 assistant professors and 5 supporting staff member for
the experimental facilities of the group. The experimental facilities consist of two towing tanks and a cavitation
tunnel. Currently the group has 13 PhD projects (all externally financed) under their guidance, with an inflow
of 12 MSc student per year.
By nature of these PhD projects, the group maintains very close collaborations with the industry and the
other knowledge institutes like TNO and MARIN. Also many contacts are with other research groups both
nationally as well as internationally. The research efforts of the group are concentrated on the study of the
performance in seaway of fast ships both from experimental as well as computational point of view. Also an
important aspect of the research focus is the study into very non-linear wave impacts on vessels in extreme
waves. The generation of suitable absorbing boundary condition for the VoF solver COMFLOW is part of this
study.
MARIN The Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) has been dedicated to furthering maritime
understanding and knowledge since 1932. It is involved in research programs for governments, the maritime and
offshore industry, and navies. MARIN also provides commercial shipbuilders, owners, propeller manufacturers,
naval architects and the offshore industry with state-of-the-art performance predictions, design consultancy,
testing services and simulation and training consultancy.
MARIN coordinates several joint-industry projects, of which the SAFE-FLOW and ComFLOW-2 projects
have already been mentioned in the proposal (Section 3.1.2). These projects are a world-wide joint effort
(geographically ranging from Northern-America, through Europe upto the Far-East) from almost all main
players in the offshore world: oil companies, offshore engineering bureaus, shipyards and classification societies.
Deltares Deltares is the new independent institute for delta technology formed on the first of Januari 2008
by Delft Hydraulics, GeoDelft, the Subsurface and Groundwater unit of TNO, and parts of Rijkswaterstaat. It
combines the knowledge and expertise of Delft Hydraulics on worldwide water issues with GeoDelft expertise
on dikes, roads and underground construction. The new institute also brings together TNO know-how on
the subsurface and groundwater, and the competences of Rijkswaterstaat in the fields of integrated water
management, spatial development and administrative processes.
Deltares works for and cooperates with Dutch government, provinces and water boards, international governments, knowledge institutes, and market parties. It provides innovative solutions for water, soil and subsurface
issues to make living in deltas, coastal areas and river basins safe, clean and sustainable. A part of this task
consists of developing and making available highly qualified and validated software products that are being
applied worldwide and by Deltares itself.
3.8
Relation to other research
The study of waves in maritime applications has long been based on potential-flow models; for an overview see
e.g. [105]. As a consequence the applications were restricted to mildly non-linear flow phenomena. Only recently,
18
the step to fully non-linear flow modelling based on the NavierStokes equations is being made, following the
pioneering work in [87, 100, 101, 111]. For an overview of basic NavierStokes methods for free-surface flow we
refer to [96]. As always many roads lead to Rome and literature shows a variety of approaches. A motivation
for the choices made in ComFLOW can be found in Section 3.1.3.
Competing application-oriented research can be found in a number of maritime institutes and departments.
In particular, at Principia (France) a simulation tool (called Eole) based on the VOF technique is under
development [99], at INSEAN (Italy) in cooperation with the University of Santa Barbara (USA) programs
based on smoothed particle hydrodynamics are being designed [69, 75, 80, 106], whereas at ECN (France) a nonlinear potential flow solver is coupled with a high-Reynolds NavierStokes solver [73, 74]. These programs are
more or less successful in delivering impact loads on structures, however their accuracy and validity is not yet
established. Moreover, for the smooth particle method one also has to consider the high computational efforts
required.
As for the detailed modelling of free-surface flows in coastal engineering applications, besides previous work
by Delft Hydraulics (cf. Section 4.1.2) the work by the department of Civil Engineering of Ghent University is
worth mentioning. The techniques used by Li et al. [90, 91] are similar to those used in Skylla and ComFLOW,
but there are also differences in the choice of discretization (higher-order) and time-integration (implicit). The
implicit displacement of the free surface is unclear, however, and validation is limited to surface elevation (no
vamidation of the important wave-induced forces) of two-dimensional flow (perpendicular to the coastline).
Further, unlike ComFLOW, their applied generating-absorbing boundary condition does not include the effect
of dispersion.
4
4.1
4.1.1
Utilization
Engineering challenge
Offshore industry
Now that the use of ship-type offshore units for the production and storage of oil has become common, these
units should be able to survive the most critical environmental conditions occurring as they are unable to flee
for approaching storms. This requires an adequate mooring system, but also attention to the potential problem
of green water on the deck. While tankers have an almost empty deck, decks of these floating production and
offloading platforms (FPSOs) carry a lot of sensitive equipment. Consequently green water can cause damage
to the vessels superstructure and equipment, such as the fluid swivels, piping, turret structure, control valves,
emergency systems, fire detection/protection systems, and cable trays.
Similar problems can occur due to wave loading on offshore windmills, often gathered together in large
wind farms. Extreme hydrodynamic loads may cause severe damage to their support structures, and herewith
jeopardize their operability.
Figure 11: The Shell Mars tension leg platform before and after hurricane Katrina.
Studies show a steady increase of these green water incidents in offshore operations. The recent hurricanes
in the Gulf of Mexico have put broad attention to these forces of nature. Some major incidents:
An example is wave impact damage to the bow of the Schiehallion FPSO in November 1998 [45, 79] resulting
in an evacuation of the personnel and expensive offshore hull repairs and an upgrade of the complete bow
structure. Estimated costs are 87 mill. Euro (78 mill. Euro loss of oil production, 6 mill. Euro damage
reparation costs and 3 mill. Euro operational costs without income).
19
Hurricanes Ivan, Katrina and Rita have had a devastating influence, not only on land but also at sea. Many
offshore platforms were thrown from their anchors and severely damaged. E.g. the Ensco offshore platform
(Fig. 1) was found 40 miles from where it was originally anchored after Ivan. As another example, the
damage from Katrina on the Shell Mars tension leg platform is shown in Fig. 11.
The problems associated with the behavior of floating structures in extreme wave conditions are experienced
by all operators of such vessels in open seas. As such, the industry has recognized that, being a problem affecting
all operators, it should be addressed jointly. This is reflected in the high degree of interest which is being shown
by industry with respect to joint industry projects (JIP) in this field. As a first attempt, in 1997, a JIP on
FPSO Green Water Loading was initiated by MARIN. The problem was studied in detail using an extensive
series of model tests. The main objective of this study, supported by a wide range of companies in the offshore
industry, was to develop methods for evaluating green water on ship-type offshore structures based on a clear
description of the green water physics. It was concluded that in all phases of the green water problem non-linear
and highly complex phenomena occur. As a follow-up, the already described SAFE-FLOW JIP (in 2000) and
ComFLOW-2 JIP (in 2004) were defined to develop methodology to numerically simulate the highly non-linear
green water events and the consequences of these green water loadings (see Section 3.1.2).
The present proposal is intended to contribute significantly towards the solution of outstanding issues resulting from the above-mentioned JIPs. As such, the proposal will be complementary to the third-phase JIP
project ComFLOW-3 (see Section 4.3.1) for which support is being sollicited from the offshore industry. Many
of the ComFLOW-2 participants have already expressed their interest to contribute to the continuation of this
research and a project proposal has been issued for their consideration and comments.
4.1.2
Coastal protection
Coastal engineering is of ongoing importance for the development, design, maintenance and adjustment of
coastal defense systems. Because of renewed and improved insights, and because of changing conditions (sea
level rise, increasing storm surges due to climate changes), it continues to be necessary to improve and update
the predictions of the wave climate near the coast and to reduce the uncertainties [81]. Besides by the energy
of the wind waves generated at sea, the hydrodynamic load of coastal structures is determined by the complex
dynamics of waves when they travel toward the coast. Across the foreshore, processes like shoaling, breaking
and refraction may cause significant wave transformations. Studies also continue on the strength of different
types of dike revetments as a function of wave impact, mostly experimentally [65, 68]. The data, however, is
far from complete, because of the large number of parameters that is involved and the costs of experimental
research.
As a result, there is a large interest in the alternative approach: a suite of computational models capable of
reliably and efficiently simulating wave impacts on coastal structures and the damage this leads to. With such
a suite of models, data on wave loads and the resulting structural damage could be generated more cheaply,
without scale effects, and for any wave condition and construction geometry. Because of the complex physics,
this is far from trivial, but promising results obtained in recent studies show that the approach may become
practically useful in the near future [58, 88]. Because of the safety and economics aspects involved, a thorough
validation of such a model train is of the utmost importance: detailed comparisons of computed results with
quality measurement data are required to assess the reliability of the models and to catalog uncertainties and
the effect of model assumptions.
Delft Hydraulics (now part of Deltares) has developed Skylla, a 2DV (two-dimensional in the vertical plane)
free-surface Navier-Stokes model built on Savof, a predecessor of ComFLOW (see Section 3.1.2). To make it
suitable for the simulation of breaking waves on coastal structures (Fig.12), the model has been significantly
extended in functionality and extensively validated, see e.g. [58]. However, at present the physical modeling
and numerical techniques used in Skylla are not all up to date anymore, while the limitation to 2DV is a
significant limitation in many applications.
To improve its capabilities on detailed near-field free-surface flow modeling, Delft Hydraulics has decided in
2006 to join the ComFLOW-2 JIP project and to participate actively in the algorithmic development of ComFLOW. This has already led to the current GABC (cf. Section 3.3.1). Deltares intends to use the ComFLOW
simulation program also in other areas where detailed free-surface flow modeling is required, e.g., in offshore
engineering to study the stability of bottom protection and the behavior of scour holes near piles. Besides
the work that will be invested in the general ComFLOW developments presented in this proposal, Deltares is
planning to invest yearly, beginning in 2008, about 6 man month (100 ke) on the development and validation
of ComFLOW for specific Deltares applications. The results of these studies will be made available to the
ComFLOW-3 partners as far as possible. Likewise, existing data from previous experiments and new data from
20
Figure 12: Left: Experiment of wave run-up in Deltares wave flume. Right: Skylla calculation of wave
run-up against breakwater.
experiments to come will be made available for the validation of ComFLOW in the ComFLOW-3 project if
distribution is permitted.
4.2
Potential users
The list of companies that have supported the ComFLOW-2 JIP includes many major oil companies, shipyards
and several offshore-related companies (in alphabetical order):
company
ABS
Aker Kvaerner
Bluewater Energy Services
BP Amoco
Bureau Veritas
ChevronTexaco
ConocoPhillips
Daewoo SME
Deltares
Det Norske Veritas DNV
FORCE Technology
Hyundai Heavy Industries
GTT
Gusto MSC
MARIN
Petrobras
Samsung
Sandwell Engineering
SBM
Shell
StatoilHydro
country
USA
Norway
Netherlands
UK
France
USA
USA
Korea
Netherlands
Norway
Norway
Korea
France
Netherlands
Netherlands
Brasil
Korea
Canada
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
activity
offshore company
offshore company
offshore company
oil company
classification society
oil company
oil company
shipyard
research institute
classification society
offshore consultants
shipyard
LNG carriers
shipyard
research institute
oil company
shipyard
offshore company
offshore company
oil company
oil company
The motivation for supporting this project lies in the expectation that a rational, effective and efficient method
will be developed by means of which it will be possible to quantify, in the design stage, extreme motions and
loads on a structure floating in extreme waves. This information, in turn, will be used to optimize the design of
the floating structure so as to minimize risk of hazardous working conditions for crew members and to safeguard
the integrity of the structure in extreme sea conditions.
Many of these industrial participants are actively using the ComFLOW program, for problems of liquid
sloshing, green water loading and wave-in-deck analysis. Several scientific publications of these industrial users
have appeared already. The list below gives an overview:
21

company
AkerKvaerner
application
wave-in-deck; run-up
contact person
T.B. Johannesen
(Thomas-B.Johannesen@akerkvaerner.com)
Bluewater
sloshing; bilge keels
J. van der Cammen

(jeroen.vandercammen@bluewater.com)
ChevronTexaco
run-up against gravity-based structures

(Fig. 13) [49, 52]
loads on offshore, coastal and industrial
constructions (Fig. 13)
wave-in-deck; sloshing [40, 41]
wave-in-deck [56]
life-boat drop tests
T. Finnigan
(timfinnigan@chevrontexaco.com)
M. Borsboom (mart.borsboom@deltares.nl)
Deltares
DNV
FORCE
Gusto MSC
Hyundai
MARIN
sloshing; drop tests

green water; wave loads; interactive motion [4351, 59, 60]
Sandwell
Statoil
wave flume
waves against tension leg platforms (Fig. 4)
[57]
J. Birknes (jorn.birkness@dnv.com)
B. Iwanowski (boi@force.no)
J.-H. Westhuis
(jaap-harm.westhuis@gustomsc.com)
Joong Soo Moon (tergome@hhi.co.kr)
T. Bunnik (t.bunnik@marin.nl)
S. Prasad (sprasad@sandwell.com)
P. Teigen (pte@statoil.com)
The following companies have already expressed their interest in participating in the ComFLOW-3 JIP; it
is expected that more companies will follow later this year. Corresponding letters are attached to this proposal
(see Appendix):
Maritime Research Institute (MARIN), Wageningen;
Deltares, Delft;
Bluewater Energy Services, Hoofddorp;
Gusto MSC, Schiedam;
Shell International Exploration and Production, Rijswijk;
Det Norske Veritas (DNV), Hovik (Norway).
Figure 13: Calculations by ComFLOW users. Left: Breakwater calculation by Deltares. Right: Wave run-up
against vertical column showing roostertail as calculated by ChevronTexaco [52].
Suggested members of the users committee It is suggested to apppoint the following persons on the
userss committee:
dr.ir. T.H.J. Bunnik (MARIN)
dr.ir. M. Borsboom (Deltares)
dr.ir. J.J. van der Cammen (Bluewater Energy Services)
dr.ir. J.-H. Westhuis (Gusto MSC)
dr. S. Masterton (Shell SIEP)
dr. B. Iwanowski (FORCE Technology)
22
4.3
4.3.1
Utilisation plan
Embedding in ComFLOW-3 JIP
As mentioned above, and illustrated in Fig. 14, the current proposal will be part of the ComFLOW-3 joint industry project, which is currently being defined as follow-up of the ComFLOW-2 JIP. The concurrent ComFLOW-3
JIP activities are focussed on benchmarking and validating the developed numerical models for wave impact
problems as studied in the proposal, i.e. in the shipping and offshore industry and in coastal regions. Also it will
contribute to the development of user-friendly pre- and postprocessing around the scientific numerical models
developed in the present project, so that the results can be utilised also by people that do not have exact insight
in the numerical models. This ensures that the proposed project itself can focus on the development of the
numerical models, whereas the complementary JIP guarantees the good utilisation of the results.
ComFLOW3 JIP
RUG
MARIN
TUD
STW funded
FORCE
STW project
Deltares
industry funded
Figure 14: Embedding of the STW project (the dash-framed area) within the ComFLOW-3 JIP. The (dark)
green-colored part is to be funded by STW; the (light) yellow-colored part will be funded by industry.
Benchmarking A very important item in the ComFLOW-3 project is the benchmarking and validation of
the ComFLOW method. This will be the primary task of FORCE Technology and will guarantee that each
new ComFLOW version delivered to the participants:
is functioning well, has a clear manual and well-defined input and output;
is able to reproduce previous results;
has been thoroughly tested with respect to new functionality;
has a clear description of the limitation of new functionality, based on validation with measurement data.
A new version of the ComFLOW code will only be released to the project participants when it has passed
these benchmark tests.
Progress meetings During the course of the ComFLOW-3 project, meetings with the project participants
will be held every 6 months to review progress (see also Section 3.6.4). These meetings are scheduled to take
place during the so-called FPSO week, in which a number of JIP meetings on a variety of subjects are scheduled
to take place at the same venue. The purpose of selecting the same locality for different JIP projects on different
subjects and with different participants is to facilitate and to encourage contacts between the various groups in
order to stimulate, among others, development of cross-problem thinking. Recent FPSO weeks were organized
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (April 2006); Bandol, France (Nov. 2006); Houston, USA (April 2007); Gyeongju,
Korea (Nov. 2007) and Trondheim, Norway (April 2008).
4.3.2
Deliverables
At the start of the project the final ComFLOW version of the ComFLOW-2 JIP will be delivered (renamed
ComFLOW version 3.0) as an executable binary file (for Windows and Linux). It is released on a CD-ROM,
accompanied with a comprehensive user manual and worked-out examples of simulations. MARIN, Deltares
and FORCE will receive the source code, such that they can actively participate in the algorithm development.
Thereafter, every year a new version will be delivered with increased functionality and/or efficiency plus a
correspondingly updated user manual. The delivery schedule can be found in Table 1. Prior to the release of a
23
At kick-off: ComFLOW 3.0 (= final version of ComFLOW-2 JIP).

After one year: GABC in three dimensions; parallelisation.
After two years: Better wave propagation; interactive body motion.
After three years: Extreme waves and current; viscous effects; local grid refinement.
At end of project: Fully validated version.
Table 1: Delivery schedule of ComFLOW program.
new version it will be extensively benchmarked. This is the responsibility of FORCE Technology, as described
in Section 4.3.1.
User support will be provided throughout the project; MARIN, assisted by the post-doc at RUG, is responsible to handle the requests for support. Also a (password-protected) website is maintained by MARIN,
which contains all project reports (manuals, tests, technical notes, etc.) and minutes and presentations from
all progress meetings. At the end of the project a workshop will be organized that focusses on the use of the
newly developed functionality in ComFLOW.
4.4
Past performance
The larger part of the project team has been working together for almost a decade now. Corresponding projects
were:
- Simulation methods for free surface flow with floating objects, funded by MARIN, 1999-2003; PhD thesis
Fekken [4].
- SafeFLOW: Safe floating offshore structures under impact loading of shipped green water and waves, funded
by EU, 2001-2004; PhD thesis Kleefsman [12].
- ComFLOW2: Hydrodynamic wave loading on floating and moored structures in steep waves, funded by
STW, 2004-2008; PhD theses Wemmenhove [33] and Wellens [30].
Contracts and patents
There are no contracts that may influence the progress of the project. Also, there are no patents requested or
foreseen in relation to this project.
Similar to the ComFLOW-2 JIP, agreements will be made with respect to the conditions under which the
new software generated in the course of this project may be transferred to the participants in the project.
Hereto, a contract will be made between STW and MARIN as the coordinator of the ComFLOW-3 JIP. In
turn, MARIN will make contracts with the individual participants of the JIP. Further, the in-kind contributions
of MARIN and Deltares will be laid down in contracts with STW.
6
6.1
Budget
Personnel
In this proposal we request the funding of three PhD students (two at the University of Groningen and one at
TU Delft) and one 4-year post-doc (at RUG). As of July 1st 2008, the cost of one PhD student amounts 174
ke, whereas a 4-year post-doc position costs 233 ke. Part of the post-doc appointment (0.2 fte/yr) will be
funded by industry; the remainder (0.8 fte/yr) is requested from STW.
6.2
Material
Local travel Regular progress meetings will be held between RUG, TUD, MARIN and Deltares, to maintain
intensive contacts between the theoretical development of the simulation method and its experimental validation.
Bi-weekly progress meetings with the project team are planned (either in Groningen, Delft or Wageningen).
Also, a number of visits to MARIN are planned during the experiment campaigns. We estimate the yearly
travel costs for this in-project cooperation at e 750 per PhD student/post-doc.
24
PC equipment The simulations to be carried out are processor and memory intensive. The main computations will be carried out at the university computers in Groningen and Delft with the current university policy
no budget is required for the use of these facilities. Also, additional access to the national computer facilities in
Amsterdam will be requested. For local desk-top activities, preliminary computations and post-processing, only
standard PC equipment is provided by the universities. Therefore a budget is requested for four well-equipped
(with respect to processor speed, central memory, and graphics performance) desktop PCs, e.g. quad core +
16 Gb. Estimated cost e 4000 per PC.
6.3
Foreign travel
Because of the link with the ComFLOW-3 JIP project, twice a year international progress meetings are planned
with the industrial participants. Typically, one meeting per year will be held in the USA or the Far East, whereas
the other meeting will be held in Europe. Experience in the previous ComFLOW-2 project has learned that
these two JIP meetings require e 3000-3500 traveling budget per person. Also regular visits to our Norwegian
partner FORCE are foreseen. Finally, the results of the project will be presented at international workshops
and conferences, e.g. the (relatively expensive) OMAE and ISOPE conferences especially dedicated to offshore
engineering. Therefore, a yearly travel budget of e 6000 per PhD student/post-doc is requested. Since the
available travel budget for faculty members at universities is limited, we request an additional yearly amount
of e 4000 per supervisor for attending the above-mentioned progress meetings.
6.4
Use of facilities
The experiments, necessary for validation of the ComFLOW program, will be carried out at MARIN; see
Section 3.4 and WP 5. The costs of these experiments are estimated at 250 ke; these comprise the construction
of the model, energy costs of the basin, and the personnel carrying out the experiments. The industry will
invest more than half of this amount (150 ke, see below); the remainder (100 ke) is requested from STW.
6.5
Contributions third party
The ComFLOW-3 JIP will fund 0.2 fte/yr ( 47 ke) of the post-doc activities. Also, it will fund the larger
part (150 ke) of the experiments at MARIN with which ComFLOW will be validated. About 150 ke of this
contribution (of 197 ke) corresponds with the fee that was contractually agreed in the ComFLOW-2 project
for using the ComFLOW program after the end of the project (3 years at 2.5 ke/yr per participant, at an
expected number of 20 participants makes 150 ke).
Further MARIN and Deltares will provide in-kind manpower to support the project from the (physical and
numerical) modelling point of view. Section 3.6.2 describes their contribution to the individual workpackages.
Their support will guarantee that the model choices to be made throughout the project are relevant for the
applications that are envisaged. In this way MARIN and Deltares will significantly contribute to a succesfull
utilization of the results obtained in this project. This support can be capitalized as 200 ke from MARIN and
125 ke from Deltares.
6.6
Total project costs

year
1
2
3
4
Total
personnel
PhD
post-doc
3 PhD
1 fte
3 PhD
1 fte
3 PhD
1 fte
3 PhD
1 fte
3 PhD
4 yr pd
material
19
3
3
3
28
{z
156
foreign
travel
32
32
32
32
128
use of
facilities
50
100
100
250
manhours
MARIN Deltares
60
45
60
35
60
35
20
10
200
125
Table 2: Total project costs (amounts in ke).
{z
325
25
Sections 3.6.2 and 3.6.3 present a detailed specification of the costs of the individual workpackages. Together
with the items mentioned in the previous subsections, the project costs are totalized in Table 2. In summary
these amount to
3 PhD + 4-year post-doc
156 ke material + travel;
250 ke use of facilities, and
325 ke in-kind manhours from MARIN and Deltares.
A significant part will be contributed by external parties, as specified in Table 3. Again, for a specification
within the individual workpackages we refer to Section 3.6.2. In summary, the industry will contribute 522
ke, consisting of
4yr 0.2 fte post-doc support ( 47 ke);
150 ke for experiments;
325 ke in-kind manhours from MARIN and Deltares.
Of the first two items, about 150 ke is funded from the fee that was agreed with the ComFLOW-2 participants
for the use of ComFLOW after the end of the ComFLOW-2 project (see Section 6.5). For ease of presentation,
this fee is considered part of the industrial ComFLOW-3 JIP contribution (as it is provided by the same
companies).
year
post-doc
1
2
3
4
Total
0.2 fte
0.2 fte
0.2 fte
0.2 fte
0.8 yr pd
use of
facilities
25
50
75
150
in-kind contribution
MARIN
Deltares
60
45
60
35
60
35
20
10
200
125
Table 3: Contribution from third parties (amounts in ke).

Table 4 gives a summary of Tables 2 and 3. It shows that the total project costs are estimated at 1.5 Me,
of which 65% (964 ke) is requested from STW, whereas the contribution from third parties will be 35%
(522 ke).
PhD students
post-doc
material
external travel
use of facilities
manpower third party
total
STW
3 PhD 522 ke
0.8 fte/yr 186 ke
28 ke
128 ke
100 ke
third parties
0.2 fte/yr 47 ke
964 ke
150 ke
325 ke
522 ke
Table 4: Summary of project funding.
References
Publications by ComFLOW development team
[1] ComFLOW website. URL www.math.rug.nl/veldman/comflo/comflo.html.
[2] M. Dr
oge and R. Verstappen. A new symmetry-preserving Cartesian-grid method for computing flow past arbitrarily shaped
objects. Int. J. Numer. Meth. Fluids, 47:979985, 2005.
[3] G. Fekken. Numerical simulation of green water loading on the foredeck of a ship. Masters thesis, Department of Mathematics,
University of Groningen, 1998.
[4] G. Fekken. Numerical simulation of free-surface flow with moving objects. PhD Thesis, University of Groningen, The
Netherlands, 2004. URL: dissertations.ub.rug.nl/faculties/science/2004/g.fekken.
[5] G. Fekken, A.E.P. Veldman, and B. Buchner. Simulation of green-water loading using the Navier-Stokes equations. In J. Piquet,
editor, Proc. 7th Int. Conf. Numer. Ship Hydrodyn., Nantes, France, July 19-22, 1999. Paper 6.3, 12 pages.
26
[6] J. Gerrits. Dynamics of Liquid-Filled Spacecraft. PhD thesis, University of Groningen, The Netherlands, 2001. URL:
dissertations.ub.rug.nl/faculties/science/2001/j.gerrits.
[7] J. Gerrits, G.E. Loots, G. Fekken, and A.E.P. Veldman. Liquid sloshing on earth and in space. In B. Sarler, C.A. Brebbia,
and H. Power, editors, Moving Boundaries V. WIT Press, Southampton, 1999.
[8] J. Gerrits and A.E.P. Veldman. Dynamics of liquid-filled spacecraft. J. Eng. Math., 45:2138, 2003.
[9] J. Gerrits and A.E.P. Veldman. Numerical simulation of coupled liquid-solid dynamics. In E. O
nate, G. Bugeda, and B. Suarez,
editors, Proc. ECCOMAS 2000, Barcelona, Spain, 2000. Paper 575.
[10] J. Gerrits and A.E.P. Veldman. Transient dynamics of containers partially filled with liquid. In B. Sarler and C. A. Brebbia,
editors, Moving Boundaries VI, pages 6372, 2001.
[11] J. Helder and R.W.C.P. Verstappen. On restraining convective subgrid-scale production in Burgers equation. Int. J. Numer.
Meth. Fluids, 56:12891295, 2008.
[12] K.M.T. Kleefsman. Water impact loading on offshore structures - a numerical study. PhD thesis, University of Groningen,
The Netherlands, 2005. URL: dissertations.ub.rug.nl/faculties/science/2005/k.m.t.kleefsman.
[13] K.M.T. Kleefsman, G. Fekken, A.E.P. Veldman, B. Iwanowski, and B. Buchner. A Volume-of-Fluid based simulation methods
for wave impact problems. J. Comput. Phys., 206:363393, 2005.
[14] K.M.T. Kleefsman, G.E. Loots, A.E.P. Veldman, B. Buchner, T. Bunnik, and E. Falkenberg. The numerical solution of green
water loading including vessel motions and the incoming wave field. In Proc. 24th Int. Conf. Offshore Mech. Arctic Eng.,
Halkidiki, Greece, 2005. Paper OMAE2005-67448.
[15] K. M. Theresa Kleefsman, Geert Fekken, Arthur E.P. Veldman, and Bogdan Iwanowski. An improved Volume-of-Fluid method
for wave impact type problems. In J.S. Chung, K. Izumiyama, M. Sayed, and S.W. Hong, editors, Proc. 14th Int. Offshore
and Polar Eng. Conf. ISOPE2004, Vol. I, pages 334341, 2004.
[16] A.J.A. Kort, R.W.C.P. Verstappen, F.W. Wubs, and A.E.P. Veldman. Symmetry-preserving discretizations for local grid
refinement. In M. Oberlack et al., editor, Progress in Turbulence 2, volume 109 of Springer Proceedings in Physics, 2007.
ISBN 3-540-32602-2.
[17] R. Luppes, J.A. Helder, and A.E.P. Veldman. Liquid sloshing in microgravity. In Proc. 56th Int. Astron. Congress, Fukuoka,
2005. Paper IAC-05-A2.2.07.
[18] R. Luppes, J.A. Helder, and A.E.P. Veldman. The numerical simulation of liquid sloshing in microgravity. In P. Wesseling,
E. O
nate, and J. Periaux, editors, Proc. Europ. Conf. Comput. Fluid Dyn.: ECCOMAS CFD 06, Egmond aan Zee, 2006.
ISBN 909020970-0 (CD-ROM) paper 490.
[19] C. Nouri, R. Luppes, A.E.P. Veldman, J.A. Tuszynsky, and R. Gordon. Rayleigh instability of the inverted one-cell amphibian
embryo. Physical Biology, 5(1):015006 (2008).
[20] A.E.P. Veldman. New, quasi-simultaneous method to calculate interacting boundary layers. AIAA J., 19:7985, 1981.
[21] A.E.P. Veldman. The simulation of violent free-surface dynamics at sea and in space. In P. Wesseling, E. O
nate, and J. Periaux,
editors, Proc. Europ. Conf. Comput. Fluid Dyn.: ECCOMAS CFD 06, Egmond aan Zee, 2006. ISBN 909020970-0 (CD-ROM)
paper 492.
[22] A.E.P. Veldman, G. Fekken, and K.M.T. Kleefsman. Numerical simulation of hydrodynamic wave impact. In B. Oskam, editor,
Flow induced unsteady loads and the impact on military applications, pages RTOAVT 123 (CDProceedings), Budapest, 2005.
[23] A.E.P. Veldman, J. Gerrits, R. Luppes, J.A. Helder, and J.P.B Vreeburg. The numerical simulation of liquid sloshing on board
spacecraft. J. Comput. Phys., 224:8299, 2007.
[24] A.E.P. Veldman, K.M.T. Kleefsman, and G. Fekken. Numerical computation of wave impact. In P. Bergan et al., editor,
Computational Methods in Marine Engineering, pages 323332, CIMNE, Barcelona, 2005.
[25] A.E.P. Veldman and M.E.S. Vogels. Axisymmetric liquid sloshing under low gravity conditions. Acta Astronautica, 11:641649,
1984.
[26] R.W.C.P. Verstappen and A.E.P. Veldman. Direct numerical simulation of turbulence at lesser costs. J. Eng. Math., 32:143
159, 1997.
[27] R.W.C.P. Verstappen and A.E.P. Veldman. Spectro-consistent discretization: a challenge to RANS and LES. J. Eng. Math.,
34:163179, 1998.
[28] R.W.C.P. Verstappen and A.E.P. Veldman. Symmetry-preserving discretization of turbulent flow. J. Comput. Phys., 187:343
368, 2003.
[29] R.W.C.P. Verstappen. On smooth, symmetry-preserving approximations of turbulent convection in a plane channel. Physics
of Fluids. Accepted for publication.
[30] P.R. Wellens. In preparation. PhD Thesis, Technical University Delft, The Netherlands, 2009.
[31] P.R. Wellens, J.A. Pinkster, A.E.P. Veldman, and R.H.M. Huijsmans. 3D diffraction based boundary conditions. In R. Beck,
editor, Proc. NSH-2007, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, August 2007.
[32] P.R. Wellens, J.A. Pinkster, A.E.P. Veldman, and R.H.M. Huijsmans. Numerical wave run up calculation on GBS columns.
In J. Chung, editor, Proc. ISOPE-2007, Lisbon, July 1-6, 2007.
[33] R. Wemmenhove. Numerical simulation of two-phase flow in offshore environments. PhD Thesis, University of Groningen,
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24th Int. Conf. Offshore Mech. Arctic Eng., Halkidiki, Greece, 2005. Paper OMAE2005-67460.
27
[35] R. Wemmenhove, E. Loots, and A.E.P. Veldman. Hydrodynamic wave loading on offshore structures simulated by a two-phase
flow model. In Proc. 25th Int. Conf. Offshore Mech. Arctic Eng., Hamburg, Germany, 2006. Paper OMAE2006-92253.
[36] R. Wemmenhove, E. Loots, and A.E.P. Veldman. Numerical simulation of hydrodynamic wave loading by a two-phase model.
In P. Wesseling, E. O
nate, and J. Periaux, editors, Proc. Europ. Conf. Comput. Fluid Dyn.: ECCOMAS CFD 06, Egmond
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[37] R. Wemmenhove, G.E. Loots, R. Luppes, and A.E.P. Veldman. Simulation of green water loading by a three-dimensional
two-phase numerical model. In J. Grue, editor, 20th Int. Workshop on Water Waves and Floating Bodies, University Centre
Svalbard, Spitsbergen, 2005. 4 pages.
[38] R. Wemmenhove, R. Luppes, A.E.P. Veldman, and T. Bunnik. Numerical simulation and model experiments of sloshing in
LNG tanks. In Proc. Int. Conf. Comp. Meth. Marine Eng. MARINE 2007, Barcelona, 2007.
[39] R. Wemmenhove, R. Luppes, A.E.P. Veldman, and T. Bunnik. Numerical simulation of sloshing in LNG tanks with a
compressible two-phase model. In Proc. 26th Int. Conf. Offshore Mech. Arctic Eng., San Diego, 2007. Paper OMAE200729294.
Publications by ComFLOW users

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simulation to calculate the motions of a subsea structure lifted through the splash zone. In Proc. 25th Int. Conf. Offshore
Mech. Arctic Eng., Hamburg, Germany, 2006. Paper OMAE2006-92447.
[45] B. Buchner, G. Fekken, T.H.J. Bunnik, and A.E.P. Veldman. A numerical study on wave run up on an FPSO bow. In Proc.
20th ASME Conf. Offshore Mech. Arctic Eng., Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, 2001.
[46] T. Bunnik and B. Buchner. Experimental investigation of subsea structures during installation and the related wave loads,
added mass and damping. In J.S. Chung, K. Izumiyama, M. Sayed, and S.W. Hong, editors, Proc. 14th Int. Offshore and
Polar Eng. Conf. ISOPE2004, Vol. I, pages 291296, 2004.
[47] T. Bunnik and B. Buchner. Numerical prediction of wave loads on subsea structures in the splash zone. In J.S. Chung,
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[48] T. Bunnik and B. Buchner. Simulation of the dynamic motions of complex sub-sea structures in the splash zone during
deepwater installations. In Proc. Deep Offshore Technology 2005, Vitoria (Brazil), November 8-10, 2005.
[49] T. Bunnik, B. Buchner, A.E.P. Veldman, M.-Y. Lee, T. Finnigan, and A. Moises. Numerical simulation of complex greenwater
and wave loads on offshore structures. In Offshore Technology Conference OTC2006, Houston, 1-4 May, 2006. Paper OTC
17853.
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Mech. Arctic Eng., Halkidiki, Greece, 2005. Paper OMAE2005-67221.
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calculation methods for a gravity based structure. In Proc. 27th Int. Conf. Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Eng., OMAE2008,
Estoril, Portugal, June 15-20, 2008. Paper OMAE2008-57625.
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[57] T.B. Johannessen, S. Haver, T. Bunnik, and B. Buchner. Extreme wave effects on deep water TLPs - Lessons learned from
the Snorre A model tests. In Proc. Deep Offshore Technology 2006, Houston, Nov. 28-30, 2006.
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method. In Proc. 23rd Int. Conf. Offshore Mech. Arctic Eng., Vancouver, 2004. Paper OMAE2004-51085.
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Appendix : Letters of conformation

The appendix contains conformation letters from:
Maritiem Research Institute MARIN, Wageningen
Deltares, Delft
Bluewater Engineering Services, Hoofddorp
Det Norske Veritas, Hovik (Norway)
Gusto MSC, Schiedam
Shell SIEP, Rijswijk
GustoMSC
Prof. A,E.P. Veldman

lnstitute of Mathematics and Computing
Science
PO Box 407
9700 AK Groningen
ref. :
Project. :
Your ref.
Our
NAD-wsh
STW-Comflow3
Schiedam, 30 May 2008
Subject: STW proposal - Extreme wave impact on offshore platforms and coastal
structures
Dear Prof. Veldman,
We have read your proposal for the project "Extreme wave impact on offshore platforms
and coastal structures" with great interest.
We consider this research important and valuable for several reasons.
Firstly, as engineers of floating offshore structures we are interested in the development
of accurate and validated methods to be able to determine extreme wave loads in order
to design saver and more robust structures.
Secondly, we support the scientific efforts that are needed to make these complex
calculations models suitable for use in day-to-day work. This will further maximize the
utilization of the preceding research efforts.
Thirdly, the collaboration between Dutch universities, research institutes and offshore
companies that will result from this research will further strengthen our national
competitiveness in this industry.
We are therefore willing to support and contribute to this research and recommend it to
be selected for STW support.
Yours faithfully,
Dr. ir. Jaap-Harm Westhuis

Manager Naval Architecture Department
Gusto B.V.
Gusto
B.V.
Karel Doormanweg 66 - 31 15
JD Schiedam The Netherlands

Telephone: +31 (0)102320000-Telefax: +31 (0)102320 1O1
PO. Box 11 - 3100 AA Schiedam -The Netherlands

NL-Trade Register 24173568
wtr-csr-431 2
.
www.
ustomsc.com
www.sbmoffshore. com
Rev- 24 May 2005
@
Shell International Exploration and
Production B.Y.
Kesslerpark 1
Dr.ir.Bas Buchner
Prof.dr.A.E.P. Veldman
Institute of Mathematics and Computing Science
2288 GS Rijswijk(ZH)
The Netherlands
Tel +31 70447
3532
Fax +31 70447
5019
Email Kevin.ewans@Shell.com
Internet http://www.shell.com/eandp-en
P.O. Box 407, 9700 AK Groningen
June 2008
Subject: ComFLOW3 proposal
Thank you for sending the comFLOW proposal, which we have now read with great interest. We
believe the proposed work will enhance the program and increase the value of the code significantly.
We would like to continue to be involved in the development and to contribute financially to the joint
industry project, but this will of course be subject to us securing funding.
Yours Faithfully
~~~
Dr. Kevin Ewans
Metocean Engineer EPT -PNR
Shell International Exploration and Production RV.
Gevesftgd le Den Haag: Carel van Bylandrlaan 30, 2596 HR, Den Haag
Handelsregister Den Haag 27259906
GustoMSC
Prof. A,E.P. Veldman

lnstitute of Mathematics and Computing
Science
PO Box 407
9700 AK Groningen
ref. :
Project. :
Your ref.
Our
NAD-wsh
STW-Comflow3
Schiedam, 30 May 2008
Subject: STW proposal - Extreme wave impact on offshore platforms and coastal
structures
Dear Prof. Veldman,
We have read your proposal for the project "Extreme wave impact on offshore platforms
and coastal structures" with great interest.
We consider this research important and valuable for several reasons.
Firstly, as engineers of floating offshore structures we are interested in the development
of accurate and validated methods to be able to determine extreme wave loads in order
to design saver and more robust structures.
Secondly, we support the scientific efforts that are needed to make these complex
calculations models suitable for use in day-to-day work. This will further maximize the
utilization of the preceding research efforts.
Thirdly, the collaboration between Dutch universities, research institutes and offshore
companies that will result from this research will further strengthen our national
competitiveness in this industry.
We are therefore willing to support and contribute to this research and recommend it to
be selected for STW support.
Yours faithfully,
Dr. ir. Jaap-Harm Westhuis

Manager Naval Architecture Department
Gusto B.V.
Gusto
B.V.
Karel Doormanweg 66 - 31 15
JD Schiedam The Netherlands

Telephone: +31 (0)102320000-Telefax: +31 (0)102320 1O1
PO. Box 11 - 3100 AA Schiedam -The Netherlands

NL-Trade Register 24173568
wtr-csr-431 2
.
www.
ustomsc.com
www.sbmoffshore. com
Rev- 24 May 2005
@
Shell International Exploration and
Production B.Y.
Kesslerpark 1
Dr.ir.Bas Buchner
Prof.dr.A.E.P. Veldman
Institute of Mathematics and Computing Science
2288 GS Rijswijk(ZH)
The Netherlands
Tel +31 70447
3532
Fax +31 70447
5019
Email Kevin.ewans@Shell.com
Internet http://www.shell.com/eandp-en
P.O. Box 407, 9700 AK Groningen
June 2008
Subject: ComFLOW3 proposal
Thank you for sending the comFLOW proposal, which we have now read with great interest. We
believe the proposed work will enhance the program and increase the value of the code significantly.
We would like to continue to be involved in the development and to contribute financially to the joint
industry project, but this will of course be subject to us securing funding.
Yours Faithfully
~~~
Dr. Kevin Ewans
Metocean Engineer EPT -PNR
Shell International Exploration and Production RV.
Gevesftgd le Den Haag: Carel van Bylandrlaan 30, 2596 HR, Den Haag
Handelsregister Den Haag 27259906

Annex D - Stw-Comflow3

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Technische Wetenschappen

Extreme wave impact on offshore platforms and coastal structures

prof.dr.ir. R.H.M. Huijsmans

Project leader prof.dr. A.E.P. Veldman

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

project manager; supervisor CFD

model tests; body motion; extreme waves

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

History and background

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

Pressure level (Pa)

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

Scientific and technological steps forward made in ComFLOW-2

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

pressure P11, wave runup test 202003

water height (m)

Algorithmic innovations in ComFLOW-2

water volume (m3)

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

cfmat0510.dat (time is 5.1000e+01)

Research areas in ComFLOW-3

Generating and absorbing wave-current boundary conditions

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

Less dissipative wave propagation

Combined wave-type and viscous effects

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

Interactive body motions

Improved numerical efficiency

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

Overview of algorithmic and modelling challenges

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

Software development and user support

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

Workpackage 1: Wave generation and propagation

Workpackage 2: Waves and viscous effects

Workpackage 3: Interactive body motion

Section 3.3.4: Development of a flexible, yet stable, fluid-(multiple)body motion algorithm,

STW 0.4 pd; MARIN 100 ke in-kind.

Workpackage 4: Numerical efficiency

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

Workpackage 6: Software development and user support

An overview of the workpackages (including funding) is presented in the table below.

1: Wave generation and propagation

2: Waves and viscous flow

3: Interactive body motion

5: Model tests and validation

6: Software development and user support

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

Milestones and deliverables

In Fig. 10 we present the global planning of the project.

Figure 10: Global planning of project.

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

Available infrastructure and embedding in research groups

Relation to other research

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

STW proposal: Extreme wave impact

sloshing; bilge keels

J. van der Cammen

run-up against gravity-based structures