Analysis of orthogonal wave reflection by a caisson with open front chamber filled with sloping rubble mound

A new combined caisson, including an open window on the front wall and an internal rubble mound with a slope, has been proposed and used in Italy. This study presents a semi-analytical solution to estimate the wave absorbing performance of the new combined caisson with regard to orthogonal wave attack. The internal slope of the rubble mound is assumed to be a series of horizontal steps. Then the matched eigenfunction expansions are used to develop the semi-analytical solution. The square-root singularity of fluid velocity at the upper tip of the front submerged wall is incorporated into the solution to enhance the convergence of calculated results. The new semi-analytical solution is confirmed by an independently developed multi-domain boundary element method solution. Also the predictions of the semi-analytical solution agree reasonably well with experimental data. Based on both the calculations and the experimental data, some useful results are presented for practical engineering.