Unstructured Finite-Volume Model of Sediment Scouring Due to Wave Impact on Vertical Seawalls

The numerical modeling of sediment transport under wave impact is challenging because of the complex nature of the triple wave–structure–sediment interaction. This study presents three-dimensional numerical modeling of sediment scouring due to non-breaking wave impact on a vertical seawall. The Navier–Stokes–Exner equations are approximated to calculate the full evolution of flow fields and morphodynamic responses. The bed erosion model is based on the van Rijn formulation with a mass-conservative sand-slide algorithm. The numerical solution is obtained by using a projection method and a fully implicit second-order unstructured finite-volume method in a σ-coordinate computational domain. This coordinate system is employed to accurately represent the free-surface elevation and sediment/water interface evolution. Experimental results of the velocity field, surface wave motion, and scour hole formation hole are used to compare and demonstrate the proposed numerical method’s capabilities to model the seawall scour.