TOWARDS AN ENGINEERING MODEL FOR PROFILE EVOLUTION: DETAILED 3D SEDIMENT TRANSPORT MODELLING

This paper describes a new morpho-dynamic 3D surf-zone model. The hydrodynamic model used for this purpose is the MIKE 3 Wave FM Model. This model solves the 3D Navier-Stokes equations on a 2D horizontal unstructured mesh with a sigma transformation describing the vertical coordinate. A recent solution to the well-known over-production of turbulence outside the surf-zone in RANS models has been applied and is shown to improve the predicted undertow profiles. The sediment transport is modelled using an advection-diffusion equation for the suspended load, together with a bed-load formulation. In the present paper the predicted surf zone hydrodynamics and sea bed evolutions are compared against experimental laboratory data.