Digital twinning of submerged floating tunnel under wave actions using smoothed particle hydrodynamics

The paper explores engineering applications of the mesh-free Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) approach to the hydrodynamic response of a Submerged Floating Tunnel (SFT) subject to wave actions. Compared with mesh-based numerical methods, the SPH approach is equipped with unique advantages in treating the complicated free surfaces and fluid-structure interactions. The model is first applied to a 2D circular tunnel under mooring constraints, and its three-degree of motions (3-DOF) are examined by varying the buoyancy-weight ratios of the SFT. Then, the SPH model is further applied to more challenging 3D scenarios, where SFTs consist of single or dual circular cross sections. The structure responses are analyzed under the influence of regular waves and solitary waves. One distinct feature of the research is that the present SPH simulations are enhanced in its visual interpretations with a rendering process, through an add-on interface linking SPH data and commercial software Blender. By fully realizing the integration of numerical simulation with sophisticated computer visualization, a realistic digital twining of the SFT is implemented to demonstrate the potentials of SPH modeling approach in practical engineering applications.