The wave attenuation properties of a long floating pontoon breakwater of rectangular section with a vertical wave wall on the front face are investigated theoretically. The structure is partially restrained by vertical piles and can respond only in heave to wave excitation. The fluid motion is idealized as two-dimensional. linearized potential flow and the solution for the fluid motion is obtained by the boundary integral equation method using an appropriate Green's function. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the effects of the various wave and structural parameters on the efficiency of the breakwater as a barrier to wave action. It is found that the wave reflection properties of the structure depend strongly on the draft of the wave wall and that by varying the wall draft and the pontoon draft and width, acceptable wave attenuation can be achieved over a range of wave conditions. The practical efficiency of this kind of wave barrier is then demonstrated by considering a typical protoype pontoon wave wall system and studying its behavior in a random wave environment.
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