Foreword

In recent years, rapid growth of computing power has encouraged

coastal and ocean engineers to use advanced numerical models to
simulate and study complex water wave dynamics. Ocean waves are
multi-dimensional and involve many physical processes. However, not
every engineering problem entails all the physical processes. There-
fore, many different wave models have been developed with their
own approximations for a wide range of applications. Before using
any such model, it is essential to understand the assumptions behind
it and its limitations.
In this review volume, a comprehensive review of various water
wave models is provided. Using time (length) scale of the wave pro-
cesses to be resolved as a measure, wave models are grouped into
phase-averaged models (Part 1) and phase-resolving models (Part 2).
Within each group, models are categorized based on the different
physical processes they can simulate, arranged from simpler to more
complex. These include depth-averaged models (Chapter 3), poten-
tial flow models (Chapter 4), Navier–Stokes models (Chapter 5) and
Lattice–Boltzmann models (Chapter 6). Each approach is reviewed
in terms of its historical development, the underlying assumptions
and limitations, the most relevant models and their practical appli-
cations. The methodologies for coupling among different models are
reviewed in Part 3, which outlines the different types of implementa-
tions, highlighting their pros and cons, and provides relevant exam-
ples available in the literature.

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vi Numerical Modeling of Water Waves in Coastal and Ocean Engineering

The review volume is written for a wide audience, ranging from

MSc and PhD students to research engineers and consultants. On
the one hand, the complete and up-to-date list of references is useful
for beginners to enter the field of wave modeling. On the other hand,
the examples presented provide a practical way to select the most
suitable approach to solve a certain problem. Readers are expected
to have some basic knowledge of coastal processes (wave hydrody-
namics, water wave theories and wave transformations), which are
briefly outlined in Chapter 1.
Philip L.-F. Liu
July, 2022