Diffraction of Solitary Waves by Breakwaters
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 119, Issue 1
Abstract
The diffraction of solitary waves around the end of a straight, thin breakwater in water of uniform depth is investigated. Results of normal and oblique interactions between solitary waves and a breakwater are presented. For solving this fully three‐dimensional strong‐interaction problem, the generalized Boussinesq (GB) two‐equation model is applied to calculate the flow field and the free‐surface elevation. Following the incident solitary waves impinging on a breakwater, the subsequent evolution of the transmitted, reflected, and diffracted wave fields are numerically evaluated. It is found that after interaction with the breakwater, an initially plane solitary wave is diffracted as a three‐dimensional cylindrical solitary wave and propagates with nonuniform amplitude toward the shadow region. For waves propagating normally past a breakwater, the amplitude of the diffracted wave in the sheltered region is reduced by about 60% in comparison with the initial wave amplitude when the leading diffracted wave reaches the middle portion of the breakwater. The newly evolved secondary backscattered and forward‐scattered waves generated from the tip of the breakwater propagate outward and follow the leading reflected wave and diffracted wave, respectively. The present results are in good agreement with experimental data.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Johnson, J. W. (1953). “Engineering aspects of diffraction and refraction.” Trans., ASCE, 118, 617–648.
2.
Liu, P. L.‐F. (1984). “Diffraction of solitary waves.” J. Wtrwy. Port, Coast., and Oc. Engrg., 110(2), 201–214.
3.
Melville, W. K. (1980). “On the Mach reflection of a solitary wave.” J. Fluid Mech., 98, 285–297.
4.
Miles, J. W. (1977). “Obliquely interacting solitary waves.” J. Fluid Mech., 79, 157–169.
5.
Penny, W. G., and Price, A. T. (1952). “The diffraction theory of sea waves by breakwaters, and the shelter afforded by breakwaters.” Philosophical Trans. Royal Soc. of London, London, England, Series A. 244, 236–253.
6.
Power, H., and Chwang, A. T. (1984). “On reflection of a planar solitary wave at a vertical wall.” Wave Motion, 6(2), 183–195.
7.
Putnam, J. A., and Arthur, R. S. (1958). “Diffraction of water waves by breakwaters.” Trans. Amer. Geophysical Union, 29(4), 481–490.
8.
Schember, H. R. (1982). “A new model for three‐dimensional nonlinear dispersive long waves,” PhD thesis, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
9.
Sommerfeld, A. (1896). “Mathematische Theorie der Diffraction.” Math. Ann. 47, 317–374.
10.
Wang, K. H., Wu, T. Y., and Yates, G. T. (1988). “Scattering and diffraction of solitary waves by a vertical cylinder.” Proc., 17th Symp. on Naval Hydrodynamics, The Hague, The Netherlands, 37–46.
11.
Wang, K. H., Wu, T. Y., and Yates, G. T. (1992). “Three‐dimensional scattering of solitary waves by vertical cylinder.” J. Wtrwy., Port, Coast., and Oc. Engrg., ASCE, 118(5), 551–566.
12.
Whitham, G. B. (1974). Linear and nonlinear waves. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y.
13.
Wiegel, R. L. (1962). “Diffraction of waves by semi‐infinite breakwater.” J. Hydr. Div., ASCE 88(1), 27–44.
14.
Wu, D. M., and Wu, T. Y. (1982). “Three‐dimensional nonlinear long waves due to moving surface pressure.” Proc., 14th Symp. on Naval Hydrodynamics. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 103–125.
15.
Wu, T. Y. (1979). “On tsunami propagation—evaluation of existing models.” Tsunamis—Proc., Nat. Sci. Found. Workshop, L. S. Hwang and Y. K. Lee, eds., Tetra Tech. Inc., Pasadena, Calif., 110–149.
16.
Wu, T .Y. (1981). “Long waves in ocean and coastal waters.” J. Engrg. Mech. Div., ASCE 107(3), EM3, 501–522.
17.
Yue, D. K. P., and Mei, C. C. (1980). “Forward diffraction of Stokes' waves by a thin wedge.” J. Fluid Mech., 99, 33–52.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 119 • Issue 1 • January 1993
Pages: 49 - 69
Copyright
Copyright © 1993 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 25, 1991
Published online: Jan 1, 1993
Published in print: Jan 1993
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.