Floating pontoon breakwaters

The hydrodynamic properties of a pair of long floating pontoon breakwaters of rectangular section are investigated theoretically. The structures are partially restrained by linear symmetric moorings fore and aft. The fluid motion is idealized as linearized, two-dimensional potential flow. The breakwater motions are assumed to be two-dimensional, in surge, heave and pitch. The solution for the fluid motion is obtained by the boundary integral equation method using an appropriate Green's function. Numerical results are presented that illustrate the effects of the various wave and structural parameters on the efficiency of the breakwaters as barriers to wave action. It is found that the wave reflection properties of the structures depend strongly on their width, draft and spacing and the mooring line stiffnesses, while their excess buoyancy is of lesser importance.