The Impact of a Submerged Elastic Plate on Wave Propagation Over a Porous Bed

Abstract An analytical study of water wave impact on a submerged elastic plate in the presence of a thick porous bed overlying a rigid bottom is presented in this work. The wave flow model that resembles the practical situation is framed into a boundary value problem (BVP). The eigenfunction-matching method is used for finding the solution, assuming small-amplitude surface waves and structural response. The effect of the clamped edge condition is analyzed for two different scenarios—a finite porous bed and an infinite porous bed. We analyze the wave behavior using the calculated reflection coefficient and the hydrodynamic wave force. By taking into account various plate and porous bed length ratios, porous bed thicknesses, and the relative position of the plate, a thorough critical analysis is carried out. Notably, in the infinitely long porous bed case, reflection patterns become independent of the plate parameters and display periodic behaviors depending only upon the bed characteristics. The results give valuable insights into the influence of the elastic plate and porous bed parameters on wave impact and wave energy dissipation, which gives an understanding of wave propagation in porous environments. The results have potential applications in offshore and coastal engineering, especially in the construction of wave-attenuating structures.