Author(s): Francesca De Serio; Domenico Maraglino; Mauro Patano; Ester Pantaleo; Domenico Pomarico; Nicola Amoroso; Giancarlo Giove; Giorgia Olivieri; Alberto Tofani
Linked Author(s): Francesca De Serio
Keywords: Turbulent jet; HPC; Turbulent kinetic energy; Coastal management
Abstract: Coastal resilience increasingly relies on interventions that modify nearshore mixing to improve water quality, control pollutant dispersion, and manage sediment and particulate transport. While jets in quiescent or current-driven settings are well studied, simulations of wave-driven coastal jets that jointly resolve waves, jet turbulence, and free-surface deformation over realistic domains remain relatively scarce. In this work, we present an HPC-enabled 3D free-surface modelling framework, based on OpenFOAM, that resolves the interaction between surface waves and a turbulent jet representative of a coastal outfall. The model captures the full velocity field, free-surface elevation, and turbulence structure, allowing the flow to be decomposed into mean, phase-averaged, and turbulent components. This provides detailed insight into how waves modulate jet trajectory, vertical and horizontal mixing, and the distribution of turbulent kinetic energy within the water column. The framework is conceived as a numerical tool to support eco-engineered interventions aimed at manipulating nearshore dynamics by enhancing dilution and reducing peak concentrations, steering fine-sediment pathways, and potentially guiding the hydrochorous dispersal of seeds and propagules in the vicinity of coastal habitats. By exploiting HPC resources, the same configuration can also be run under multiple wave climates and intervention layouts, enabling systematic comparison of alternative designs. The results illustrate how high-resolution, HPC-based CFD models can complement laboratory experiments and field observations in support of sustainable coastal management.
Year: 2026