Experimental and Numerical Study on the Hydrodynamic Efficiency of Permeable Caissons Barriers

Breakwaters are constructed to protect beaches and ports from high storms and waves. By bringing calm to the port, breakwaters also increase ship safety and operation. This paper presents a study of the breakwater partially submerged in water, consisting of precast concrete caissons suspended on a spaced pile, experimentally and numerically, to assess the efficacy of hydrodynamics. A set of scenarios were simulated for the proposed breakwater using FLOW-3D numerical modeling. It turned out that the coefficient of wave transmission (Kt) increases with relative barrier draft and decreases with relative breakwater width. When the waves impacting breakwater are relatively short, their effectiveness rises. As the seafloor slope increases, kt decreases. The suggested breakwater disperses the waves and reduces the wave speed behind it. The wave velocities and vortices surrounding the breakwater decrease as the wave period (T) increases. In front of the barrier and at the wave crest, hydrodynamic pressure is at its peak. The numerically simulated results using FLOW-3D program are consistent with the experimental results.