Interaction between medium-long period waves and smoothed mound breakwater: Physical model tests and SPH simulations

Abstract

Medium-long period waves have attracted increasing attention. Laboratory and numerical investigations on the interaction between medium-long period waves and a smoothed mound breakwater were conducted. A two-dimensional numerical wave flume based on smoothed particle hydrodynamics was established. A good agreement between experimental and numerical results was observed.Wave force on the slope is positively correlated with the wave period. It is found that Neelamani's method is slightly overestimated wave force on the slope. By comparing with other overtopping methods, a new formula considering the wave period was proposed to predict the overtopping of the smoothed mound breakwater. The energy transmission coefficient was used to evaluate the protective effect of the breakwater. The results show that the smooth mound breakwater provides significant protection against longer-period waves. As the wave period increases, the number of peaks (Np) in the wave spectrum behind the breakwater increases. A formula was presented to describe the relationship between Np and wave period.