Numerical Modelling and Analysis of Flow through Aquatic Canopies

The ability of coastal vegetation such as seagrasses and mangrove forests to dissipate wave energy is well documented in both field and laboratory studies. Quantifying this transformation of wave properties is critical for predicting coastal hydrodynamics accurately, and modelling these transformations is required to quantify the role that coastal vegetation plays in reducing storm damage and coastal erosion. This has led to the development of a number of wave-vegetation hydrodynamic formulations, which account for the influence of plant structure on wave attenuation through the vegetation drag coefficient. There is very limited knowledge of the drag coefficient of aquatic vegetation and it is typically treated only as a calibration parameter; that is, adjusted to minimize the difference between predicted and observed wave heights. In this study, computational fluid dynamics methods are used to obtain a better understanding of flow and energy dissipation inside aquatic canopies. The results show an increase in the force exerted on canopy elements as the canopy density increases. The results of the numerical simulations have been used to analyse various small scale flow characteristics affecting the drag force and investigate the mechanisms that govern the flow behaviour. The results of this study can be employed to improve the accuracy of wave dissipation modelling within coastal models.