SPH modelling of 3D body transport in free surface flows

A 3D SPH numerical scheme has been developed to model the dynamics of rigid bodies, driven by free surface flows. It is based on the Euler-Newton equations for body dynamics, implemented using the SPH formalism. The scheme has been coupled to a Weakly Compressible SPH model for the main flow. The “fluid-body” 2-way coupling terms are modelled through an advanced SPH technique for boundary treatment (Adami et al., 2012), here adapted for free-slip conditions. The “solid-solid” (“body-body” and “body-frontier”) 2-way coupling terms are represented using the boundary force particles described in Monaghan (2005). This technique has been modified, in order to model the impingements of entire bodies, even at low velocities. The resulting numerical model is here validated on a 2D asymmetric wedge fall on still water and a 3D dam break event with transport of a floating body. This last phenomenon has also been experimentally realized during this study. Validation is analyzed by comparisons with measurements, URANS results and theoretical solutions.