A generalized vertical coordinate transformation based on SPH(2) for efficient free surface flow simulations

• A vertical coordinate transformation for the SPH is formulated in a unified manner. • The SPH(2) can perform the vertical coordinate transformation properly and accurately. • The σ -coordinate system has been introduced into SPH for the first time. We propose three new particle methods that improve computational efficiency by introducing a generalized Vertical Coordinate Transformation (VCT) for free surface flow problems with complex bottom boundaries. The first method is a bottom boundary-fitted particle method (BF-SPH). The BF-SPH is simply an arrangement of the body-fitted-coordinate system in the finite difference method to the particle method. The BF-SPH can accurately impose the bottom boundary conditions, while a simple procedure is performed by transforming the complex bottom into a flat one. The second method is the bottom boundary-fitted ellipsoidal particle method (BFE-SPH), which combines the BF-SPH with the ellipsoidal particle model proposed by Shibata et al. The BFE-SPH can speed up the particle simulation by choosing a reasonable aspect ratio of ellipsoidal particles. The last method is the σ -SPH method, which automatically selects the aspect ratios of ellipsoidal particles concerning water depth using the σ -coordinate system. The σ -coordinate is often employed in numerical simulations of oceanographic fields, such as in the Princeton Ocean Model. However, this is the first attempt to apply the σ -coordinate to a particle method. Vertical resolution is required from offshore to the coastal region in oceanographic problems such as tsunamis, especially when conducting detailed analysis using a 3-D particle method. Using σ -coordinate allows for a stepwise transition to a naturally efficient coordinate system by referencing water depth. In this paper, we have shown that the above three methods can be generalized as Vertical Coordinate Transformations (VCTs), and the VCTs are successfully achieved by employing SPH(2) with the second-order accuracy of the second-order derivatives, including cross derivatives.