HIGH-FIDELITY NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF OSCILLATING FLOWS AND TURBULENCE STRUCTURES PAST A SINGLE OYSTER INDIVIDUAL

Oysters are an eco-engineering species that build rigid and ultra-rough reef structures in intertidal zones. Oyster reefs effectively attenuate wave energy, offering an intriguing opportunity for integration into nature-based coastal protection systems. In spatially extensive reefs, e.g., formed by the invasive Pacific oyster (Magallana gigas; Hitzegrad et al., 2022), the wave attenuation is primarily attributed to frictional dissipation induced by the ultra-rough surfaces (Morris et al., 2021). The availability of in-depth datasets of experimental studies involving 3D-printed reef structures (e.g., Hitzegrad et al.,2024a) provides calibration and validation of high-fidelity simulations for the first time. These complementary numerical models can now be used to gain a more in-depth understanding of the complex flow kinematics. Therefore, this work aims (1) to simulate the wave-oyster reef interaction on a small scale, i.e., an oyster individual at high fidelity, and (2) to examine the wave-oyster interaction by analyzing the flow field, the turbulence production, and force progression.