Hydrodynamic performance of a rectangular floating breakwater with and without pneumatic chambers : an experimental study

Abstract

In this study, we investigated experimentally the hydrodynamic performance of floating breakwaters with and without pneumatic chambers. The experimental results showed that the pneumatic chambers significantly enhanced the wave energy dissipation as well as reduced the wave transmission. With the installation of the pneumatic chambers, the water inside the chambers helped to reduce the surge response, while the chamber walls increased the moment of inertia of the breakwater and thus mitigated the pitch response. The air pressure fluctuations inside the pneumatic chambers and the effects of draught were also examined in the experiments. The overall results illustrate that the new design of floating breakwater is more effective for wave protection, and also holds the potential for simultaneous wave energy conversion into electricity by installing Wells turbines to the pneumatic chambers.