Experimental study of rectangular floating breakwaters

Abstract

The performance of a rectangular floating breakwater under short and long breakwater to sea wall distances was examined through a series of experiment in a wave flume. The wave period and slit openings were also varied. The surface wave elevation along the wave flume and fluctuations of air

pressure within the air chamber were measured using wave gauges and pressure sensors respectively. From there, the average power output and coefficient of reflection were calculated using computer software. The experimental results revealed that short-distance breakwater to wall cases yielded higher average power output, especially in the case where the sea wall was located right next to the model, but was unreliable for governing coefficient of reflection values. Longdistance breakwater to wall cases, on the other hand, yielded lower average power output but are better for governing the coefficient of reflection values. This has important implications on its applicability in a real life setting.