FULLY NONLINEAR SIMULATION OF FLOW KINEMATICS BENEATH REGULAR AND IRREGULAR WAVES PROPAGATING OVER SUBMERGED SILLS

In the coastal zone, irregular wave trains undergo strong changes due to variable water depth inducing shoaling, refraction and nonlinear wave-wave and wave-bottom interactions. Knowing the evolution of the wave spectrum and statistical distributions of free surface elevation (FSE), wave crest height and wave height is of utmost interest for many applications in coastal engineering. This includes the design of coastal and harbor structures, the prediction of morphodynamical changes and beach erosion, just to mention few of them. In this study, the whispers3D model is used to simulate the wave induced kinematics beneath regular and irregular wave trains propagating over a submerged bar. This seabed configuration provokes strong changes in the wave fields and the wave kinematics underneath resulting from the combined effects of dispersion and nonlinearity. Two wave flume experiments offering refined measurements of FSE and horizontal velocity are used to assess and quantify the accuracy of the model.