Highly Accurate Experimental Heave Decay Tests with a Floating Sphere: A Public Benchmark Dataset for Model Validation of Fluid-Structure Interaction
Journal article, 2021
Highly accurate and precise heave decay tests on a sphere with a diameter of 300 mm were completed in a meticulously designed test setup in the wave basin in the Ocean and Coastal Engineering Laboratory at Aalborg University, Denmark. The tests were dedicated to providing a rigorous benchmark dataset for numerical model validation. The sphere was ballasted to half submergence, thereby floating with the waterline at the equator when at rest in calm water. Heave decay tests were conducted, wherein the sphere was held stationary and dropped from three drop heights: a small drop height, which can be considered a linear case, a moderately nonlinear case, and a highly nonlinear case with a drop height from a position where the whole sphere was initially above the water. The precision of the heave decay time series was calculated from random and systematic standard uncertainties. At a 95% confidence level, uncertainties were found to be very low-on average only about 0.3% of the respective drop heights. Physical parameters of the test setup and associated uncertainties were quantified. A test case was formulated that closely represents the physical tests, enabling the reader to do his/her own numerical tests. The paper includes a comparison of the physical test results to the results from several independent numerical models based on linear potential flow, fully nonlinear potential flow, and the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. A high correlation between physical and numerical test results is shown. The physical test results are very suitable for numerical model validation and are public as a benchmark dataset.
CFD
fully nonlinear potential flow
sphere
linear potential flow
structure interaction
heave decay
physical tests
RANS
fluid–
benchmark dataset
wave energy converters
Author
Morten Bech Kramer
Aalborg University
Floating Power Plant
Jacob Andersen
Aalborg University
Sarah Thomas
Floating Power Plant
Flemming Buus Bendixen
Sintex
Harry Bingham
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Robert Read
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Nikolaj Holk
Aalborg University
Edward Ransley
University of Plymouth
Scott Brown
University of Plymouth
Yi-Hsiang Yu
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Thanh Toan Tran
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Josh Davidson
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Csaba Horvath
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Carl-Erik Janson
Chalmers, Mechanics and Maritime Sciences (M2), Marine Technology
Kim Nielsen
Aalborg University
Ramböll AB
Claes Eskilsson
Aalborg University
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Energies
1996-1073 (ISSN) 19961073 (eISSN)
Vol. 14 2 269Subject Categories
Applied Mechanics
Geotechnical Engineering
Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics
DOI
10.3390/en14020269