Oblique Wave Scattering and Trapping by a Floating Front Curved Thick Porous Breakwater

Abstract The present study examines the scattering and trapping behavior of obliquely incident small-amplitude water waves by a floating front curved, thick, porous breakwater in shallow water. The breakwater, curved toward the seaward side, directly interacts with incoming waves, significantly influencing wave attenuation. The wave motion through the permeable structure is modeled employing the Sollitt and Cross formulation under finite-depth conditions. A numerical scheme based on the multi-domain boundary element approach is formulated to derive the associated boundary value problem, and the results are validated with existing experimental data and analytical results. The hydrodynamic characteristics of the breakwater are evaluated in terms of wave reflection, transmission, surface elevation, and forces on both the breakwater and an adjacent impermeable wall. The study found that the front curved thick porous breakwater increases the wave reflection and attenuates the wave transmission and force compared to the vertical-edge porous breakwater. The results indicate that the radii of curvature play a critical role in improving the redirection of wave energy. Larger curvature radii are found to reduce wave transmission effectively, while in wave trapping scenarios, wave reflection is enhanced and exhibits an oscillatory trend in intermediate water owing to the dynamic redirection of wave energy.