A new Incompressible SPH model for simulating wave–structure impacts

The simulation of free-surface flows in hydraulics presents a number of challenges due to the inherent complexity of handling a fluid volume that continuously deforms and evolves over time. In this context, the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method, based on a Lagrangian approach that represents the fluid through a set of moving particles, proves to be more suitable than traditional grid-based methods. However, compared to these latter approaches, the SPH method also exhibits certain drawbacks, including increased difficulty in the treatment of boundary conditions and a higher computational cost. This thesis proposes a numerical model for simulating free-surface flows based on the Incompressible SPH (ISPH) approach. The model employs a boundary treatment technique that, to the best of our knowledge, has never been applied within this specific framework. During the development of this technique, several intrinsic advantages were identified when compared to other methods available in the literature. A series of numerical tests were carried out to assess the validity of the proposed model. The results obtained, consistent with those reported in the literature, confirmed the effectiveness of the developed numerical model in reproducing the analyzed free-surface flow phenomena.