Filling flows by wave impacts on walls: Laboratory and numerical experiments

The phenomenon of filling flow, which may take place inside the fissures or cavities of maritime structures, due to the action of waves, has been studied mostly from an analytical point of view. The aim of this paper was to investigate such a process through an experimental approach, using both physical and numerical models. The most important filling flow properties were evaluated under different wave conditions (expressed in terms of acceleration and angular frequency). Numerical and physical results were compared with each other and with the analytical formulations proposed in literature. Good agreement was found between the experimental and the analytical results, especially for the velocity of the backflow jet and for the pressure inside the cavity. Finally, an empirical formula for the prediction of the pressures induced by the filling flow, related to the wave and the cavity geometry features, was proposed.