Abstract
The simulation of wave propagation and penetration inside ports and coastal areas is of paramount importance to engineers and scientists desiring to obtain an accurate representation of the wave field. However, this is often a rather daunting task due to the complexity of the processes that need to be resolved, as well as the demanding levels of required computational resources. In the present paper, the enhancements made on an existing sophisticated Boussinesq-type wave model, concerning the accurate generation of irregular multidirectional waves, as well as an empirical methodology to calculate wave overtopping discharges, are presented. The model was extensively validated against 4 experimental test cases, covering a wide range of applications, namely wave propagation over a shoal, wave penetration in ports through a breakwater gap, wave breaking on a plane sloping beach, and wave overtopping behind breakwaters. Good agreement of the model results with all experimental measurements was achieved, rendering the wave model a valuable tool in real-life applications for engineers and scientists desiring to obtain accurate solutions of the wave field in wave basins and complex coastal areas, while keeping computational times at reasonable levels.
Highlights
The simulation of nearshore wave propagation is of paramount importance in port and coastal engineering projects
For Case 2 of [32], which corresponds to a peak frequency of fp = 1.0 Hz, model results are almost identical to the experimental measurements, validating the capability of the model to predict the onset of breaking as well as the magnitude of wave energy dissipation on a plane sloping beach in a very accurate manner
The model has been thoroughly validated against four series of experiments covering a wide range of coastal engineering applications, namely irregular wave breaking on a plane beach [32], wave propagation over a shoal [33], wave penetration through a breakwater gap [34] and wave overtopping at the lee of a breakwater [35]
Summary
The simulation of nearshore wave propagation is of paramount importance in port and coastal engineering projects. With dimensions of a few km in real-field applications (i.e., the dimension of the surf zone or a recreational harbor), waves can be described in great detail with theoretical models (even down to small fractions of the wave period or wavelength) In these models, the basic hydrodynamic laws can be used to estimate the motion of the water surface, the velocity of the water particles, as well as the wave-induced pressure at any time and place in the water body. When tackling wave agitation inside port basins or wave propagation in coastal areas, models based on the solution of the Boussinesq equations are often employed taking advantage of their high order of nonlinearity and capability to resolve multiple important wave processes, such as diffraction, refraction, reflection and wave-structure interactions, among others. The results have strong implications on the accurate and efficient calculation of wave characteristics in the nearshore, leading to the improvement of the design of coastal structures, and enhancing port operations and coastal zone management
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
