Comparison of sediment particulate motions in turbulent flows under breaking waves simulated by RANS and LES

Abstract

Beach erosion is a serious problem in many coastal countries as it causes environmental as well as economic damages. Recently, ill-considered constructions of coastal structures worsen erosions as they break equilibrium status that would have been preserved if the structure did not exist. Most of the beach erosion process occurs in the surf zone where the converted energy from breaking waves carry sand grains alongshore and/or offshore. In this study, we employ the OpenFoam CFD model to simulate turbulent boundary layer flows in a surf zone environment. To examine the turbulence energy generated under breaking wave conditions, we compare performance of two turbulence modeling schemes