Oblique wave diffraction by a flexible floating structure in the presence of a submerged flexible structure

Expansion formulae associated with the interaction of oblique surface gravity waves with a floating flexible plate in the presence of a submerged horizontal flexible structure are derived using Green’s integral theorem in water of finite and infinite water depths. The associated Green’s functions are derived using the fundamental solution associated with the reduced wave equation. The integral forms of the Green’s functions and the velocity potentials are advantageous over the eigenfunction expansion method in situation when the roots of the dispersion relation coalesce. As an application of the expansion formulae, diffraction of oblique waves by a finite floating elastic plate in the presence of a submerged horizontal flexible membrane is investigated in water of finite depth. The accuracy of the numerical computation is demonstrated by analysing the convergence of the complex amplitude of the reflected waves and the energy relation. Effect of the submerged membrane on the diffraction of surface waves is studied by analysing the reflection and transmission coefficients for various parametric values. Further, the derivation of long wave equation under shallow water approximation is derived in a direct manner in the appendix. The concept and methodology can be easily extended to deal with acoustic wave interaction with flexible structures and related problems of mathematical physics and engineering.