Domain-decomposition strategy for marine applications with cavity entrapments

A 2-D domain-decomposition (DD) strategy, developed for marine applications involving gas cavities, is presented. The DD couples a boundary element method with a Navier–Stokes solver using a level-set (LS) technique to handle the evolution of the gas–liquid interface. The deformation of compressible cavities is handled by means of a simplified model assuming uniform pressure and adiabatic conditions. Merging and splitting phenomena are described as isothermal processes without chemical reactions. Benchmark solutions are used for the verification of the LS with compressible cavities. The resulting DD method is applied to study the initial stages of a water-shipping event on the deck of a barge-shaped ship.

► We introduced the coupling between incompressible and compressible solution, where the compressible solution is simplified for faster computations.
► We introduced this technique in a domain-decomposition strategy where the field method was coupled with a BEM.
► The code was used to analyse the merging and splitting of compressible cavities and applied to the analysis of water shipping events.
► The compressible–incompressible coupled solution was validated against an analytical solution for an oscillating cavity documented in the manuscript.