Abstract
Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the characteristics of wave loading on submerged circular-front breakwaters due to irregular waves. The wave force spectrum for a semicircular breakwater is similar to that for a quarter-circular breakwater. The dimensionless peak wave force for irregular waves is less than that for regular waves. The performance of our theoretical wave load model is improved significantly by incorporating the effect of wave transmission and flow separation. A RANS-VOF model was used to investigate the effect of local hydrodynamic disturbances by submerged breakwaters on the pressure distribution around the breakwater and total wave load. The numerical results reveal that wave-induced vortices at the structure have a substantial influence on the wave loading on the submerged quarter-circular breakwater but not on the semicircular breakwater. A parametric analysis is required to further improve the relationship between wave loads and the vortices.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 265-277 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Coastal Engineering |
| Volume | 121 |
| Early online date | 30 Jan 2017 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2017 |
Keywords
- Irregular waves
- Pressure
- Submerged circular-front breakwaters
- Vorticity
- Wave load model
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Engineering
- Ocean Engineering