Modeling of free surface flows for hydrodynamic applications can be accomplished using surface fitting methods for low to medium Froude numbers. But when the Froude number is larger, such as flows associated with steep and overturning waves, the fitting methods encounter difficulties.

The University of Tennessee SimCenter at Chattanooga has implemented a multiphase surface capturing approach to handle these higher Froude number cases, Fr > 0.4. This approach has been applied to several validation cases, including the R/V Athena research vessel shown in this article.