Hydrodynamic characteristics of semi-immersed breakwater with an attached porous plate

In the present study, wave interaction with a fixed, partially immersed breakwater of box type with a plate attached (impermeable–permeable) at the front part of the structure is investigated numerically and experimentally. The large scale laboratory experiments on the interaction of regular waves with the special breakwater were conducted in the wave flume of Laboratori d’Enginyeria Marνtima (LIM) at Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona. Experimental results are compared with numerical results obtained with the use of the Cornell breaking Wave and Structures (COBRAS) wave model. The effects of an impermeable as well as a permeable plate attached to the bottom of the breakwater on its hydrodynamic characteristics (wave transmission, reflection, dissipation, velocity and turbulence kinetic energy) are investigated. Computed velocities and turbulence kinetic energy in the vicinity of the structure indicate the effects of the breakwater with the attached (impermeable/permeable) plate on the flow pattern and the turbulence structure. The attached impermeable plate at the front part of the breakwater enhances significantly the efficiency of the structure in attenuating the incident waves. The permeable plate reduces the efficiency of the structure since wave energy is transmitted through the porous body of the plate. Based on the hydrodynamic characteristics it is inferred that the breakwater with an impermeable plate attached to its bottom is more efficient. The comparison of horizontal and vertical forces acting on the breakwater for all cases examined reveals that plate porosity influences slightly vertical force and severely horizontal force acting on the structure, reducing maximum values in both cases.