Accurate solution to diffraction around a modified V-shaped breakwater

Abstract

In 1999, the U.S. Army has launched a revolutionary concept in V-shaped breakwaters to reduce the impact of elevated sea states during humanitarian (or military) operations. Barriers of this type provide a sheltered region in the interior of the V. Herein a modified V-shaped model, intended as a supplement to the original concept, is presented. The corresponding linearized diffraction problem is solved by an effective technique and then an improved series solution is newly derived. Appropriate basis functions are selected to correctly capture the singular behaviors in velocity fields near the salient corners and cusped edges of the breakwater. Comparisons with the results of the usual eigenfunction expansion method reveal the efficiency and accuracy of the present approach. Influences of associated parameters on the waveheight distributions are illustrated and discussed. The quickly convergent method proposed herein not only provides a reliable benchmark for assessing the results of other numerical methods, but also has a promising potential to attack problems implicating troublesome tip and corner singularities.