Development of a numerical code to simulate the hydrodynamic energy potential, applied at Bou Ismail bay

Abstract

The knowledge of wave energy propagation in the shallow water allow us to understand the functioning of marine ecosystems and to give answers about several costal phenomena. In the Algerian coast, the waves are omnipresent with an energy that is stripped under different physical forms. The classification of areas with high hydrodynamic energy potential requires a large data flow, concerning the physical hydrodynamic parameters produced by this energy. In this study we have developed a numerical code based on various mathematical theories and equations describing the physical state of the wave, including the formulas of MUNK, Coastal Engineering Research Center, 'CERC' and of the French Central Hydraulics Laboratory, 'LCHF', based on the output data of the SWAN model. This code allowed us to measure several wave’s physical parameters sufficiently well in order to understand and quantify the energies transmitted along the coast. A spatial analysis of the obtained results allowed us to classify seven coastal stations with an average wave energy exceeding 20 kW/m in the stormy days.

Keywords

• coastal hydrodynamics
• wave propagation
• wave modeling
• wave energy
• storm waves