The project "Design and Simulation of a Large Shore Breaker for Surfing", delivered for Murphy Waves Ltd in 2022, addressed a practical building and construction challenge through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and multiphysics analysis. Rather than producing simulation images in isolation, the study was organised around the client's design questions: what controlled performance, where the principal risks or losses occurred, and how the design or operating strategy could be improved.

This project aimed to develop an accurate CFD model for a full-scale pneumatic wave generator which would create waves of up to 2m in height for surfing. Developing such a design by taking into account all the constraints and limitations of the mechanical component is extremely challenging and requires conducting a detailed and careful parametric study. Another challenge associated with such full-scale projects is the computational cost of running domains with tens of million of cells in a transient mode. This project utilised our team’s exclusive High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities, which enabled running several simulations on hundreds of CPUs, resulting in a much shorter turnaround time, representing an essential aspect of this particular project. This successful design will be built in multiple locations in the world in the near future.

The methodology centred on a fully transient free-surface multiphase CFD model of the pneumatic wave-generation system. The representation retained the air chambers or nozzles, tank or lagoon, bathymetry, breaking region, barriers and structures controlling wave creation, shoaling and dissipation. Boundary and operating conditions covered plenum pressures, actuation sequences, duty cycles, geometry variants and the operating envelope required to generate repeatable surfable waves, with material, fluid and equipment properties assigned from the available design information. Resolution was concentrated in regions where steep velocity, thermal, concentration or phase gradients were expected, while the overall model remained efficient enough to compare several credible configurations. This balance allowed system-level performance to be linked to the local mechanisms responsible for it.

The assessment compared pneumatic layout, timing, bathymetry and structural or splash-control refinements, including high-performance-computing parametric studies where required. Performance was judged using wave height, period, crest shape, peel angle, ride length, repeatability, energy per cycle, splash containment and local structural loading. Results were reviewed through quantitative summaries and engineering visualisations, such as contours, vectors, streamlines, sections and time histories, selected to suit the physics. Important assumptions and operating uncertainties were considered so that the recommendations relied on repeatable comparative trends rather than a single nominal case.

For Murphy Waves Ltd, the principal value was a de-risked full-scale or compact wave concept with practical guidance for controls, prototype testing and implementation. The final evidence linked each recommendation to the relevant model or process output, making it suitable for internal design reviews, supplier or contractor discussions and, where applicable, planning, safety or regulatory dialogue. The work also created a reusable baseline that can be updated as geometry, operating data or test results become available, reducing the cost and risk of later design iterations.