Wave characteristics of Bragg reflections from a train of submerged bottom breakwaters

•Bragg reflections from a train of bottom breakwaters were studied.•A source distribution type of numerical model for wave computation was developed.•Effects of various breakwater formations on Bragg reflections were investigated.•Notions with regard to practical application in shoreline protection were addressed.

The wave characteristics of Bragg reflections for a train of surface water waves from a series of submerged bottom breakwaters were investigated numerically. A numerical model based on boundary discretization technique was developed to calculate the wave field. The computational results were validated by comparing with analytical solutions in the literature. The wave fields induced by two types of bottom breakwaters in the shapes of rectangular and trapezoidal with various formations of the breakwater trains were simulated to study the wave characteristics. Variables investigated included the number of the breakwaters in the train, the height and width of the breakwaters, and the side slope of the trapezoidal breakwaters. Certain notions with regard to the application of shoreline protections were addressed based on the results.