Amal C. Phadke

Modeling of tropical cyclone winds and waves for emergency management

This paper compares three commonly used parametric models of tropical cyclone winds and evaluates their application in the wave model WAM. The parametric models provide surface wind fields based on best tracks of tropical cyclones and WAM simulates wave growth based on the wind energy input. The model package is applied to hindcast the wind and wave conditions of Hurricane Iniki, which directly hit the Hawaiian Island of Kauai in 1992. The parametric wind fields are evaluated against buoy and aircraft measurements made during the storm. A sensitivity analysis determines the spatial and spectral resolution needed to model the wave field of Hurricane Iniki. Comparisons of the modeled waves with buoy measurements indicate good agreement within the core of the storm and demonstrate the capability of the model package as a forecasting tool for emergency management.

Modeling of storm-induced coastal flooding for emergency management

This paper describes a model package that simulates coastal flooding resulting from storm surge and waves generated by tropical cyclones. The package consists of four component models implemented at three levels of nested geographic regions, namely, ocean, coastal, and nearshore. The operation is automated through a preprocessor that prepares the computational grids and input atmospheric conditions and manages the data transfer between components. The third generation spectral wave model WAM and a nonlinear long-wave model calculate respectively the wave conditions and storm surge over the ocean region. The simulation results define the water levels and boundary conditions for the model SWAN to transform the storm waves in coastal regions. The storm surge and local tides define the water level in each nearshore region, where a Boussinesq model uses the wave spectra output from SWAN to simulate the surf-zone processes and runup along the coastline. The package is applied to hindcast the coastal flooding caused by Hurricanes Iwa and Iniki, which hit the Hawaiian Island of Kauai in 1982 and 1992, respectively. The model results indicate good agreement with the storm-water levels and overwash debris lines recorded during and after the events, demonstrating the capability of the model package as a forecast tool for emergency management.

Hydrodynamic response of a pneumatic floating platform

This paper describes a numerical approach to model the dynamic response of a pneumatic floating platform, and the laboratory experiments and parametric study to verify the numerical results. The pneumatic platform is composed of an array of open-bottom vertical cylinders trapping pressurized air that displaces the water. The cylinder diameter is assumed to be small compared to the wavelength and the water inside each cylinder oscillates as a piston. These assumptions simplify the mathematical formulation in that the bottom of the platform can be treated as a continuous surface on which the source distribution method can be applied. In the laboratory experiments, the compressibility and displacement of the trapped air are modeled by a spring and float assembly. The comparison between the numerical and experimental results indicates favorable agreement. The oscillation of the water columns and the overall dynamic characteristics of the platform are illustrated and discussed in the parametric study.

Simulation of hurricane waves with parametric wind fields

This paper compares three commonly used parametric models of hurricane winds and evaluates their application in the wave model WAM. The parametric models provide wind fields based on best tracks of hurricanes and WAM simulates wave growth based on the wind energy input. The model package is applied to hindcast the wind and wave conditions of Hurricane Iniki, which directly hit the Hawaiian Island of Kauai in 1992. The comparisons show that the wind and wave models can accurately predict the wind speed and wave height near the center of the storm.

Resonance and response of fluid-filled membrane in gravity waves

Abstract A numerical model is developed to investigate the resonance and response characteristics of a floating fluid-filled membrane in gravity waves. The model consists of three components simulating, respectively, the membrane response and the motions of the fluids inside and outside the membrane. The governing integral equation for membrane deformation is derived in variational form based on the principle of virtual work and contains all the terms consistent with a linear strain–displacement relation. Potential flow solutions of the internal and external fluids are obtained by two boundary element models, which are coupled to the finite element model of the membrane. Comparison of the computed results with published numerical and experimental data indicates favorable agreement. An average response amplitude operator is defined to identify the resonance frequencies, at which the response patterns are examined. The present paper provides a complete linear solution of the fluid–membrane interaction problem and new results illustrating the effect of membrane elasticity on the resonant response.