Assessment of Wave Energy Dissipation and Stability of Breakwater with Varied Geometries Subjected to Strong Waves

摘要

Breakwaters, serving as part of coastal management plan, are usually constructed to reduce the intensity of wave action in inshore waters and thereby reduce the wave impacts on coastal infrastructures and coastal erosion to provide safe harborage. However, recent post disaster surveys on hurricanes and tsunamis indicated that breakwaters did not perform as they were designed. During extreme events with strong winds and high waves, the breakwaters could turn into submerged condition. However, the performance of the submerged breakwaters subjected to strong waves is still not clear. This study is to evaluate the wave forces on the submerged breakwaters and the effects of the breakwater on the wave energy dissipation. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis are performed in OpenFOAM to simulate the interactions between the irregular waves and the breakwater. Sensitivity analyses are performed to investigate the effect of different parameters associated with breakwater geometries and incident wave properties on the breakwater performance. In addition, shear stresses acting on the crest of the breakwater were discussed, as well.