A Computer Program to Estimate the Combined Effect of Refraction and Diffraction of Water Waves

摘要

The study reviews the phenomena which generally affect water waves entering a harbor, and discusses the traditional methods of calculating the effects of the three principal phenomena - refraction, diffraction and shoaling. The utility of harnessing the capability of the computer to make the required calculations is illustrated. A computer program is presented which estimates the effects of refraction and diffraction as they combine to change the direction and height of water waves. A unique feature of the program, referred to as 'REDSEA', is that it considers the degree of reflection from the breakwater in calculating the diffraction coefficients. The validity of the predicted results is established by comparing them to experimental data obtained in connection with this study as well as data from a similar study conducted previously. Applications of the program to design and analysis problems are discussed. (Author)