Finite element solution of free‐surface ship‐wave problems

Published Int. Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering Vol. 45 (5), pp. 503-528, 1999
doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0207(19990620)45:5<503::AID-NME570>3.0.CO;2-E

Abstract

An unstructured finite element solver to evaluate the ship‐wave problem is presented. The scheme uses a non‐structured finite element algorithm for the Euler or Navier–Stokes flow as for the free‐surface boundary problem. The incompressible flow equations are solved via a fractional step method whereas the non‐linear free‐surface equation is solved via a reference surface which allows fixed and moving meshes. A new non‐structured stabilized approximation is used to eliminate spurious numerical oscillations of the free surface.