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An Interactive Nearshore Wave Simulator for Rapid Design Prototyping and Natural Hazard Education.

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Title: An Interactive Nearshore Wave Simulator for Rapid Design Prototyping and Natural Hazard Education.
Authors: Lynett, Patrick1 (AUTHOR) plynett@usc.edu, Ebrahimi, Behzad1 (AUTHOR) bebrahim@usc.edu, Son, Sangyoung2 (AUTHOR) sson@korea.ac.kr, Hwang, Sooncheol3 (AUTHOR) shwang@kiost.ac.kr, Bak, Spicer4 (AUTHOR) spicer.bak@erdc.dren.mil
Source: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal & Ocean Engineering. Jul2026, Vol. 152 Issue 4, p1-13. 13p.
Subjects: Coastal engineering, Water waves, Dynamic models, Emergency management education, Breakwaters, Boussinesq equations
Abstract: Celeris-WebGPU (version 1) is a browser-based interactive simulator for nearshore waves, designed to support coastal engineering design and natural hazard education. The system implements two depth-integrated, phase-resolving wave models: a standard mode solving the enhanced Boussinesq equations for weakly nonlinear weakly dispersive waves and a high-order mode solving the fully nonlinear extended Boussinesq equations for improved accuracy. The targeted use for the standard mode is rapid, iterative, and interactive simulations, while the high-order mode is best for design-level simulations in which accuracy is paramount. Both modes use a hybrid finite-volume–finite-difference approach; the standard mode's accuracy is of second-order in space, while the high-order mode's accuracy is of fourth-order. The simulation and visualization pipeline runs on the GPU via WebGPU, enabling faster-than-real-time performance on typical desktop hardware within a web browser. We show the accuracy and capabilities of Celeris-WebGPU with benchmark tests, including regular wave breaking on a beach, solitary wave run-up on a conical island, and nearshore wave transformation at Duck, North Carolina. An example design scenario adding a breakwater offshore of Oceanside, California, is presented, demonstrating the rapid prototyping capabilities of the platform. Results show good agreement with experimental and field data and illustrate how the WebGPU deployment allows interactive modeling with advanced physics directly in a web browser. The accessible framework of Celeris-WebGPU can broaden the use of physics-based wave simulation in both engineering practice and education. Practical Applications: Coastal engineers and planners often need to evaluate how waves interact with shorelines, structures, and beach features, but traditional wave modeling tools can be slow to set up and difficult to share. Celeris-WebGPU addresses these drawbacks by running a physics-based wave simulation directly in a web browser, with no installation required. An engineer can upload local bathymetry, set wave conditions, and rapidly visualize how waves shoal, break, or wrap around a proposed coastal structure. For example, a designer can paint a virtual offshore breakwater into the model and immediately observe how wave heights and currents adjust, enabling rapid comparison of different designs in minutes rather than hours. In teaching settings, students can experiment with changing beach slopes or wave periods and watch real-time animations of coastal transformation and wave run-up, reinforcing theory through visual feedback. By making accurate wave modeling accessible on any GPU-enabled device, Celeris-WebGPU supports faster, collaborative coastal design and helps communities better understand and prepare for natural wave hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Engineering Source
Description
Abstract:Celeris-WebGPU (version 1) is a browser-based interactive simulator for nearshore waves, designed to support coastal engineering design and natural hazard education. The system implements two depth-integrated, phase-resolving wave models: a standard mode solving the enhanced Boussinesq equations for weakly nonlinear weakly dispersive waves and a high-order mode solving the fully nonlinear extended Boussinesq equations for improved accuracy. The targeted use for the standard mode is rapid, iterative, and interactive simulations, while the high-order mode is best for design-level simulations in which accuracy is paramount. Both modes use a hybrid finite-volume–finite-difference approach; the standard mode's accuracy is of second-order in space, while the high-order mode's accuracy is of fourth-order. The simulation and visualization pipeline runs on the GPU via WebGPU, enabling faster-than-real-time performance on typical desktop hardware within a web browser. We show the accuracy and capabilities of Celeris-WebGPU with benchmark tests, including regular wave breaking on a beach, solitary wave run-up on a conical island, and nearshore wave transformation at Duck, North Carolina. An example design scenario adding a breakwater offshore of Oceanside, California, is presented, demonstrating the rapid prototyping capabilities of the platform. Results show good agreement with experimental and field data and illustrate how the WebGPU deployment allows interactive modeling with advanced physics directly in a web browser. The accessible framework of Celeris-WebGPU can broaden the use of physics-based wave simulation in both engineering practice and education. Practical Applications: Coastal engineers and planners often need to evaluate how waves interact with shorelines, structures, and beach features, but traditional wave modeling tools can be slow to set up and difficult to share. Celeris-WebGPU addresses these drawbacks by running a physics-based wave simulation directly in a web browser, with no installation required. An engineer can upload local bathymetry, set wave conditions, and rapidly visualize how waves shoal, break, or wrap around a proposed coastal structure. For example, a designer can paint a virtual offshore breakwater into the model and immediately observe how wave heights and currents adjust, enabling rapid comparison of different designs in minutes rather than hours. In teaching settings, students can experiment with changing beach slopes or wave periods and watch real-time animations of coastal transformation and wave run-up, reinforcing theory through visual feedback. By making accurate wave modeling accessible on any GPU-enabled device, Celeris-WebGPU supports faster, collaborative coastal design and helps communities better understand and prepare for natural wave hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:0733950X
DOI:10.1061/JWPED5.WWENG-2370