Experimental study on ocean waves propagating over a submerged breakwater in front of a vertical seawall

Abstract

In this note, the interaction between water waves, a submerged breakwater, a vertical wall and a sandy seabed is studied experimentally. Laboratory experiments were conducted to record the water surface elevation and the pore pressures inside the seabed foundations. The previous analytical solution without submerged breakwater proposed by the first author [Jeng, D.-S. (1997). Wave-Induced Seabed Response in Front of a Breakwater, PhD Thesis, The University of Western Australia] was only valid in the region near the seabed surface. The strong interaction of surface waves between a submerged breakwater and a vertical wall causes the significant change in the wave-induced pore pressure within the seabed. The experimental results indicate that the wave-induced pore pressure beneath the submerged breakwater is greater than that at the toe.