A highly wave dissipation offshore breakwater

The aim of this paper is to develop an offshore breakwater, for which coefficients of both the wave reflection and transmission have low values. The breakwater is suggested to compose of n layers of porous materials with different porosities. A complex eigen function method is used in the theoretical analysis. Continuities of both mass flux and fluid pressure are assumed at interfaces between every two adjoining porous materials and at the interface between end materials and water region. Following a series of mathematical processes, the coefficients of the wave transmission and reflection along with the wave energy loss are calculated. The porosity of materials is varied in computations; and results are compared among structures composing of different layers of porous materials. A single layer offshore breakwater is shown to reduce simultaneously the coefficients of transmission and reflection only when the structure is very wide in the direction of wave propagation, and the structure material has a high porosity. A multilayer breakwater, however, can function well in reducing both coefficients at a much narrower width; structure having more layers can be more effective at narrower width. Finally, several experiments are conducted; theoretical computations and experimental results agree well.     

双消浪室局部开孔沉箱防波堤反射特性的理论与试验研究

双消浪室局部开孔沉箱防波堤具有低反射、结构受力小、适宜较大水深和工程造价低等优点。为明确双消浪室局部开孔沉箱水动力特性的主要影响因素,采用理论分析和物理模型试验相结合的方法,对规则波和不规则波作用下双消浪室局部开孔沉箱防波堤的反射特性进行研究。基于势流理论,建立规则波和不规则波对局部开孔沉箱防波堤作用的三维解析解,采用二次压力损失边界条件考虑沉箱开孔墙对波浪运动的影响,利用周期性边界条件考虑防波堤结构沿长度方向的周期性变化。开展相应规则波和不规则波物理模型试验,验证理论模型的合理性。通过算例分析,研究不同波浪要素和结构参数对防波堤反射特性的影响。研究表明:双消浪室局部开孔沉箱相对消浪室宽度取值为0.08~0.20,沉箱前墙开孔率大于后墙开孔率时,防波堤在较大波浪频率范围内消波效果显著;当前后墙的开孔率相等时,防波堤反射系数的最小值随着开孔率增大而减小。     

Wave damping characteristics of vertically stratified porous structures under oblique wave action

The characteristics of wave damping for the vertically stratified porous breakwaters are investigated under oblique wave action. It is found that for common angles of incidence, the wave damping efficiency of a vertically stratified porous structure behaves very similar to a simple structure. The reflection coefficient decreases with increasing angle of incidence while the transmission coefficient only slightly increases as the angle of incidence increases. It is shown that the wave energy loss is in direct proportional to the structure thickness and its porosity regardless of the angle of incidence. Considering small transmission coefficient as a basic requirement and if a moderate reflection coefficient is accepted, a structure thickness of b/h=1 is proposed. In this situation, since the structure does not have a very large thickness, adopting a vertically stratified structure is not an effective way to improve its wave damping efficiency.     

Wave transmission and reflection characteristics of a rigid surface and submerged horizontal plate

The wave transmission and reflection characteristics of a rigidly fixed surface and submerged horizontal plate were investigated experimentally in detail for a wide range of incident wave steepnesses and for different depths of submerge of the plate in deep water conditions in regular water wave fields. The experiments were conducted at the Ocean Engineering Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India, in a wave flume 10 m long, 0.3 m wide and in a constant water depth of 0.8 m. The horizontal plate is 0.22 m thick and 1.2 m in length, covering the enrire width of the flume. From the present investigation, it is found that for a rigid surface plate, the coefficient of transmission is a minimum and the coefficient of reflection is a maximum, but the maximum value of the coefficient of energy loss occurs for plates submerged closer to the still-water level (SWL) and not for the surface plate. It is also found that the value of the coefficient of reflection increases with the increase in the value of the Reddy-Neelamani (RN) number, the ratio of horizontal water particle excursion at the bottom of the plate in its absence to the length of the plate. The coefficient of transmission is found to decrease rapidly with increase in the value of RN number up to 0.1. The wave transmission is only 5% for RN from 0.1 to 0.2. It is also found that for RN number greater than 0.04, the minimum energy dissipation is consistently about 60% of the incident wave energy.     

Reflection of irregular waves from perforated-wall caisson breakwaters

An analytical model has been developed that predicts the reflection of irregular waves normally incident upon a perforated-wall caisson breakwater. To examine the predictability of the developed model, laboratory experiments have been conducted for the reflection of irregular waves of various significant wave heights and periods impinging upon breakwaters having various wave chamber widths. For frequency-averaged reflection coefficients, though the overall agreement is fairly good between measurement and calculation, the model somewhat over-predicts the reflection coefficients at larger values, and under-predicts at smaller values. The model also underestimates the energy loss coefficients as wave reflection becomes larger. These differences occur because the model neglects the evanescent waves near the breakwater, which increase the energy loss at the perforated wall. The frequency-averaged reflection coefficient shows a minimum when the wave chamber width is approximately 0.2 times the significant wavelength, and it decreases with increasing wave steepness. Finally, it is shown that the reflection of irregular waves from a perforated-wall caisson breakwater depends on the wave frequency, so that the reflected wave spectrum shows a frequency dependent oscillatory behavior.     

Wave Attenuation Performance and the Influencing Factors of A Lower Arc-Plate Breakwater

Comprehensive experimental and numerical studies have been undertaken to investigate wave energy dissipation performance and main influencing factors of a lower arc-plate breakwater. The numerical model, which considers nonlinear interactions between waves and the arc-plate breakwater, has been constructed by using the velocity wave- generating method, the volume of fluid (VOF) method and the finite volume method. The results show that the relative width, relative height and relative submergence of the breakwater are three main influencing factors and have significant influence on wave energy dissipation of the lower arc-plate open breakwater. The transmission coefficient is found to decrease with the increasing relative width, and the minimum transmission coefficient is 0.15 when the relative width is 0.45. The reflection coefficient is found to vary slightly with the relative width, and the maximum reflection coefficient is 0.53 when the relative width is 0.45. The transmission and reflection coefficients are shown to increase with the relative wave height for approximately 85% of the experimental tests when the relative width is 0.19 0.45. The transmission coefficients at relative submergences of 0.04, 0.02 and 0 are clearly shown to be greater than those at relative submergences of 0.02 and 0.04, while the reflection coefficient exhibits the opposite relationship. After the wave interacts with the lower arc-plate breakwater, the wave energy is mainly converted into transmission, reflection and dissipation energies. The wave attenuation performance is clearly weakened for waves with greater heights and longer periods.     

Wave interaction with ‘’-type breakwaters

The wave transmission, reflection and energy dissipation characteristics of ‘’-type breakwaters were studied using physical models. Regular and random waves in a wide range of wave heights and periods and a constant water depth were used. Five different depths of immersion (two emerged, one surface flushing and two submerged conditions) of this breakwater were selected. The coefficient of transmission, K_t, and coefficient of reflection, K_r, were obtained from the measurements, and the coefficient of energy loss, K_l was calculated using the law of balance of energy. It was found that the wave transmission is significantly reduced with increased relative water depth, d/L, whether the vertical barrier of the breakwater is surface piercing or submerged, where ‘d’ is the water depth and ‘L’ is the wave length. The wave reflection decreases and energy loss increases with increased wave steepness, especially when the top tip of the vertical barrier of this breakwater is kept at still water level (SWL). For any incident wave climate (moderate or storm waves), the wave transmission consistently decreases and the reflection increases with increased relative depth of immersion, Δ/d from −0.142 to 0.142. K_t values less than 0.3 can be easily obtained for the case of Δ/d=+0.071 and 0.142, where Δ is the height of exposure (+ve) or depth of immersion (−ve) of the top tip of the vertical barrier. This breakwater is capable of dissipating wave energy to an extent of 50–80%. The overall performance of this breakwater was found to be better in the random wave fields than in the regular waves. A comparison of the hydrodynamic performance of ‘’-type and ‘T’-type shows that ‘T’-type breakwater is better than ‘’-type by about 20–30% under identical conditions.     

Wave interaction with T-type breakwaters

The wave transmission, reflection and energy dissipation characteristics of partially submerged ‘T'-type breakwaters (Fig. 1) were studied using physical models. Regular and random waves, with wide ranges of wave heights and periods and a constant water depth were used. Five different depths of immersions of the ‘T'-type breakwater were selected. The coefficient of transmission, K_t, coefficient reflection, K_r, were obtained from the measurements and the coefficient of energy loss, K_l is calculated using the law of conservation of energy. It is found that the coefficient of transmission generally reduces with increased wave steepness and increased relative water depth, d/L. This breakwater is found to be effective closer to deep-water conditions. K_t values less than 0.35 is obtained for both normal and high input wave energy levels, when the horizontal barrier of the T type breakwater is immersed to about 7% of the water depth. This breakwater is also found to be very efficient in dissipating the incident wave energy to an extent of about 65% (i.e. K_l>0.8), especially for high input wave energy levels. The wave climate in front of the breakwater is also measured and studied.

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Fig. 1. Schematic view of the T-type breakwater.     

Wave interaction with twin plate wave barrier

The wave transmission and reflection characteristics and wave induced pressures on single surface plate and twin plate barriers were investigated experimentally for a wide range of wave heights and periods in regular and random waves. Seven different spacing between the plates were tested. It is found in general, hydrodynamically the twin plate is better than the single surface plate to reduce the wave transmission and increase the wave reflection. It is found that the transmission coefficient of twin plate reduced from 0.8 to 0.3 when the relative plate width is increased from 0.18 to 0.84. Transmission coefficient of twin plate barrier shows oscillating behavior, when relative plate width is increased due to blocking and pumping effect. The reflection coefficient increased from 0.25 to 0.65, when the relative width of the plate is increased from 0.18 to 0.84. The increase in spacing between the plates was also found to increase the reflection coefficient. The transmission coefficient, K_t for 98% probability of non-exceedence was found to be minimum and is about 0.60 when the relative spacing between the plate is about 0.12, compared to K_t=0.76 for single surface plate. The reflection coefficient for 98% probability of non-exceedence was found to exceed 0.66 for single surface plate, whereas it is 0.73 for twin plate with relative spacing of about 0.40. From the investigation with wide range of input parameters, it is found that the twin plate barrier needs to be designed for highest 98% pressure ratio of 2.0, which is equal to the static pressure induced by the design incident wave height.     

Hydraulic performance of vertical walls with horizontal slots used as breakwater

The hydrodynamic performance of a vertical wall with permeable lower part (horizontal slots) was experimentally and theoretically studied under normal regular waves. The effect of different wave and structural parameters was investigated e.g. the wave length, the upper part draft, and the lower part porosity. Also, the theoretical model based on an Eigen Function Expansion Method and a Least Square Technique was developed. In order to examine the validity of the theoretical model, the theoretical results were compared with the present experimental results and with the results obtained from different previous studies. Comparison between experiments and predictions showed that the theoretical model provides a good estimate of the wave transmission, reflection, and energy dissipation coefficients when the friction factor f = 5.5. In general, the tested model gives transmission coefficients less than 0.5 and reflection coefficients larger than 0.5 when the relative wave length h/L is larger than 0.3, the relative upper part draft D/h larger than 0.36, and lower part porosity ε less than 0.5. Also, the tested model dissipates about 50% of the incident wave energy when the relative wave length h/L is in the range of 0.25 to 0.35.     

Characteristic friction coefficient and scale effects in oscillatory porous flow

This work presents a simple method to evaluate the performance of a porous breakwater when it is impinged with normal incidence by a non-breaking monochromatic wave train. It is based on: 1) a potential flow model for wave interaction with permeable structures and 2) a set of experimental tests on a rectangular porous structure with uniform granular distribution. A characteristic friction diagram is obtained considering wave energy balance in a control volume, minimising the error between the numerical model and the experimental results for the wave transmission coefficient. Results show that, for large breakwater widths, the reflection process reaches a saturation regime before the waves exit the structure at a distance from the seaside between the interval 0.2 < x/L < 0.45. For larger breakwater widths, the reflection coefficient is almost constant (except for “resonant” conditions) and wave transmission decreases exponentially. Under such conditions, the wave propagation through the porous medium depends on the relative diameter D/L and the porosity of the material; the dependence on the relative breakwater width B/L and the ratio diameter wave height D/H is weak. This diagram intends to be useful for preliminary engineering studies of breakwater's efficiency and performance and as an adequate selection criteria of the experimental stone diameter to minimize scale effects in laboratory studies.     

Physical model study of wave and current conditions at 17th Street Canal breach due to Hurricane Katrina

A 1:50 scale physical model was constructed for the 17th Street Canal region, New Orleans, on the southern coast of Lake Pontchartrain, as part of the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET) study of Hurricane Katrina. The purpose of the 1350 m² physical model that represented about 3.4 km² of the local area was to aid in defining wave and water velocity conditions in the 17th Street Canal during the time period leading up to the breaching of the floodwall within the Canal. In the immediate period following this disaster, there were many hypothesis of failure put forth in the media. Some of these hypothesis indicated wave action may have been the underlying cause of the failure of the 17th Street Canal floodwall. Some performed numerical work with inappropriate boundary conditions, which indicated strong wave-generated currents may have caused erosion along the floodwalls. This physical model study indicated a number of wave-attenuating processes occurring as waves approached the location of the breach. Wave height reduction resulted due to: (1) refraction of wave energy over the shallower submerged land areas surrounding the harbor away from the canal; (2) reflection of energy off vertical walls in the region between the entrance to the canal near the Coast Guard Harbor and the bridge; and (3) interaction of the wave with the Hammond Highway bridge, including reflection and transmission loss. Wave heights near the lakeside of the bridge were 0.3-0.9 m in height, reduced from 1.8 to 2.7 m wave heights in the open lake. Waves on the south side of the bridge, near the breach, were further reduced to heights below 0.3 m. These results supported the conclusion that waves were not a significant factor for the 17th Street Canal floodwall failure. Other IPET investigations determined floodwall failure was of a geotechnical nature due to the high surge water level. The physical model also provided calibration information for numerical wave models. The effects of debris on flow and waves after the breach was formed were also investigated.     

Hydrodynamic efficiency of partially immersed caissons supported on piles

The efficiency of the breakwater, which consists of caissons supported on two or three rows of piles, was studied using physical models. The efficiency of the breakwater is presented as a function of the transmission, reflection and the wave energy dissipation coefficients. Regular waves with wide ranges of wave heights and periods and constant water depth were used. Different characteristics of the caisson structure and the supporting pile system were also tested. It was found that, the transmission coefficient (k_t) decreases with increasing the relative breakwater draft D/L, increasing the relative breakwater width B/h, and decreasing the piles gap-diameter ratio G/d. It is possible to achieve k_t values less than 0.25 when D/L≥0.1. The reflection coefficient takes the opposite trend especially when D/L≤0.15. The proposed breakwater dissipates about 10-25% of the incident wave energy. Also, simple empirical equations are developed for estimating the wave transmission and reflection. In addition, the proposed breakwater model is efficient compared with other floating breakwaters.     

基于SPH方法的开孔沉箱比尺效应研究

由于在前壁上设置了尺寸较小的孔,开孔沉箱受流体黏性力作用显著,依照弗劳德数相似准则设计模型存在比尺效应。为揭示比尺效应,建立了模拟波浪与开孔沉箱相互作用的光滑粒子流体动力学(SPH)模型。其中流体运动由连续性方程和Navier-Stokes方程控制,固壁边界由改进的动力边界粒子施加。模型收敛性通过分析不同粒子分辨率下的波浪反射系数得到,模型精度通过比较计算与理论波浪反射系数证明。使用经过验证的SPH模型,计算并比较了不同几何比尺和开孔率下开孔沉箱附近的涡量场、箱体外侧的波面时程曲线和波浪反射系数。结果表明,随着模型几何比尺的减小,开孔沉箱受到偏大的流体黏性力,致使更多波能在湍流运动中耗散,进而减小了波浪反射系数并降低了箱体外侧的波面高度。     

Vortex generation and evolution in water waves propagating over a submerged rectangular obstacle: Part I. Solitary waves

Interactions between a solitary wave and a submerged rectangular obstacle are investigated both experimentally and numerically. The Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique is used to measure the velocity field in the vicinity of the obstacle. The generation and evolution of vortices due to flow separation at the corners of the obstacle are recorded and analyzed. It is found that although the size of the vortex at the weatherside of the obstacle is smaller than that at the leeside, the turbulence intensity is, however, stronger. A numerical model, based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations with a k–ϵ turbulence model, is first verified with the measurements. Overall, the agreement between the numerical results and laboratory velocity measurements is good. Using the RANS model, a series of additional numerical experiments with different wave heights and different heights of the rectangular obstacle are then performed to test the importance of the energy dissipation due to the generation of vortices. The corresponding wave transmission coefficient, the wave reflection coefficient and the energy dissipation coefficient are calculated and compared with solutions based on the potential flow theory. As the height of the obstacle increases to D/h=0.7, the energy dissipation inside the vortices can reach nearly 15% of the incoming wave energy.     

Experimental study on the performance of twin plate breakwater

The wave transmission characteristics and wave induced pressures on twin plate breakwater are investigated experimentally in regular and random waves.A total of twenty pressure transducers are fixed on four surfaces of twin plate to measure the wave induced dynamic pressures.The spatial distribution of dynamic wave pressure is given along the surface of the twin plate.The uplift wave force obtained by integrating the hydrodynamic pressure along the structure is presented.Discussed are the influence of different incident wave parameters including the relative plate width B /L,relative wave height /i H a and relative submergence depth s /a on the non-dimensional dynamic wave pressures and total wave forces.From the investigation,it is found that the optimum transmission coefficient,t K occurs around B /L 0.41 ~ 0.43,and the twin plate breakwater is more effective in different water depths.The maximum of pressure ratio decreases from 1.8 to 1.1 when the relative submergence depth of top plate is increased from 0.8to +0.8.     

Effects of scattering and resonance on energy dissipation of an internal tide in a narrow shelf

The effects of scattering and resonance on the energy dissipation of an internal tide were investigated using a two-dimensional model which is a reassembled version of the theoretical generation model devised by Rattray et al. (1969) for internal tide. The basic character of the scattering process at the step bottom was first investigated with a wide shelf model. When the internal wave incited from a deep region (Region II) into the shallow shelf region (Region I), a passing wave into the shallow region, a reflected wave into the deep region, and a beam-like wave, i.e. a scattered wave (SW), emanated at the step bottom. The SW, which consists of the superposition of numerous internal modes, propagated upward/downward into both regions. The general properties of the SW were well expressed around the shelf edge, even in the present model with viscosity effect. The amplitude of the SW decreased dramatically when the depth of the velocity maximum of the incident internal wave in Region II corresponded with the depth of the shelf edge. In the narrow shelf model, where the decay distance of the internal wave in Region I is longer than the shelf width, the incident internal wave reflected at the coast to form a standing wave. When the internal wave in Region I is enhanced by the resonance, the energy of the SW in Region II is also intensified. Furthermore, the energy of the modes in Region II predominated when the velocity maximum is identical to that of the dominant mode in Region I. These results suggest that the spatial scale of shelf region is a very important factor governing the energy dissipation of the internal tide through reflection and scattering in a narrow shelf.     

Wave interactions with multiple-row curtainwall-pile breakwaters

In this study, a mathematical model has been developed that can compute various hydrodynamic characteristics of a multiple-row curtainwall-pile breakwater. To examine the validity of the developed model, laboratory experiments have been conducted for double- and triple-row breakwaters with various combinations of drafts of curtain walls, porosities between piles, and distances between rows. Comparisons between measurement and prediction show that the mathematical model adequately reproduces most of the important features of the experimental results. As a whole, the transmission coefficient decreases with an increase in relative water depth, whereas the reflection coefficient, normalized run-up and force exhibit an opposite trend in their variations. With fixed values of the draft of the curtain wall and the porosity of lower perforated part of the first row of a double-row breakwater, as these values of the second row increase and decrease, respectively, the transmission coefficient decreases, as expected. On the other hand, their effects on wave reflection, run-up, and wave force change with the relative depth. As for the distance between the rows, the transmission coefficient becomes a maximum when it is about one half of the wave length, suggesting that this condition should be avoided to achieve the advantage of the breakwater in reducing wave transmission. It is shown that for prototype breakwaters, on an average, the transmission coefficient would be smaller than 0.3 for wave periods less than 6.0 s, and it would be about 0.45 even for the wave period of 9.0 s, although there would be a variation depending on the geometry of the breakwater. It is also shown that wave transmission is significantly reduced by multiple-row breakwaters compared with a single-row breakwater, while the difference between double-row and triple-row breakwaters is marginal. Finally, engineering monograms are provided for double-row breakwaters to be used in practical engineering applications of the breakwaters.     

Interaction of non-breaking regular waves with a periodic array of artificial porous bars

A computational model is developed to investigate the wave damping characteristics of a periodic array of porous bars. The transmission and reflection coefficients as well as the wave energy dissipation are evaluated relating to the physical properties and geometric factors of bars. It is shown that the porosity, number, width and height of bars all play important roles in the wave damping characteristics, compared to other factors such as the intrinsic permeability. It is observed that like impermeable bars, permeable bars display Bragg phenomenon. However, Bragg reflection produced by permeable bars is smaller than that by impermeable bars. Permeable bars reflect smaller waves, transmit smaller waves and dissipate more wave energy. It is indicated that if the porosity increases, both the reflection and transmission coefficients decrease and more wave energy is dissipated. Further, it is found that the porosity controls the magnitude, but not the oscillation frequency of the reflection coefficient, which depends only on the number of bars.     

Statistics of Wind and Waves off Tsuyazaki, Fukuoka, in the Eastern Tsushima Strait

The variability of the sea surface wind and wind waves in the coastal area of the Eastern Tsushima Strait was investigated based on the hourly data from 1990 to 1997 obtained at a station 2 km off Tsuyazaki, Fukuoka. The annual mean wind speed was 4.84 m s⁻¹, with strong northwesterly monsoon in winter and weak southwesterly wind in summer. Significant wave heights and wave periods showed similar sinusoidal seasonal cycles around their annual means of 0.608 m and 4.77 s, respectively. The seasonal variability relative to the annual mean is maximum for wave heights, medium for wind speeds, and minimum for wave periods. Significant wave heights off Tsuyazaki turned out to be bounded by a criterion, which is proportional to the square of the significant wave period corresponding to a constant steepness, irrespective of the season or the wind speed. For terms shorter than a month, the significant wave height and the wave period were found to have the same spectral form as the inshore wind velocity: white for frequencies less than 0.2 day⁻¹ and proportional to the frequency to the −5/3 power for higher frequencies, where the latter corresponds to the inertial subrange of turbulence. The spectral levels of wave heights and wave periods in that inertial range were also correlated with those of the inshore wind velocity, though the scatter was large. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.