ANSYS Fluent simulation of the air-water interface under hurricane force wind

Physics of the air-sea interface are among the factors determining intensity of tropical cyclones. We have conducted a series of laboratory experiments at Air-Sea Interaction Salt Water Tank (ASIST), which have been coordinated with numerical modeling using the Volume of Fluid Large Eddy Simulation (VOF LES) method. The microstructure of the air-water interface under hurricane force wind revealed formation of the “projectiles” and “sheets” of water fragmenting into large spray particles. This process resembled Kelvin-Helmholtz shear instability between fluids with large density difference. We reproduced this type of instability in a laboratory experiment with a Volume of Fluid Large Eddy Simulation. This numerical simulation was coordinated with the laboratory experiment at the UM RSMAS Air-Sea Interaction Salt Water Tank. The data from lab experiments are given in CARTHE's companion dataset R1.x134.073:0009. We have used the ANSYS Fluent software for the numerical experiment. Case, data file, and Phase Water, Volume Fraction contour plots with 0.01 s time step are provided in this database.