Wave Interaction With a Pair of Submerged Floating Tunnels in the Presence of An Array of Submerged Porous Breakwaters

Abstract

Abstract In this article, a coupled model is proposed for wave interaction with a pair of submerged floating tunnels in the presence of an array of bottom-standing trapezoidal porous breakwaters. The theory of Sollitt and Cross is adopted to govern the fluid flow inside the porous medium. For constant water-depth, the eigenfunction expansion method is employed, whereas for varying water-depth, the eigenfunction expansion method along with the mild-slope approximation is employed. The solutions, thus derived, are matched at the shared boundaries under defined physical conditions. First, the performance of a single breakwater of impermeable and permeable type in reducing wave forces on tunnels is analyzed. Next, the performance of two and three submerged breakwaters is studied. The reflection and transmission coefficients of waves are high in the absence of the submerged breakwater and in the presence of an impermeable breakwater. These coefficients significantly reduce in the presence of the submerged porous breakwater. As a result, the horizontal and vertical forces acting on bridges and tunnels are substantially subsided. Wave forces on tunnels reduce with an increase in the angle of incidence. Multiple porous breakwaters show better performance in mitigating wave forces on tunnels. Higher wave force on tunnels is noticed in intermediate water-depth. The findings can enhance the knowledge of submerged porous breakwaters’ performance in reducing wave loads on bridges and tunnels.