Waves and wave modelling using SWAN

The design of coastal structures is typically reliant on prediction of wave conditions in shallow water. Examples of such structures include coastal sea defences, breakwaters, harbours and marine terminals and offshore renewable structures.

As waves transform from offshore they are modified by several processes dependent on the period of the waves and the water depth. In many situations, natural and dredged seabed levels lead to complex wave transformations that can only be represented accurately using computational wave models.

A wide range of computational wave models are available; their use depends on the dominant physical processes, the extent of the area of interest and computational demands. The SWAN spectral wave model, developed by TU Delft, is a reliable model for wave generation and transformation in relatively shallow water and is widely used within the industry for deriving operational and design wave conditions in coastal waters.

This two day course provides a summary of the theory related to wave transformation, and then a hands-on introduction to setting up and running SWAN, including pre- and post-processing. Example applications of SWAN are also presented.