An experimental study of a rectangular floating breakwater with flexible curtains as wave-dissipating components

Abstract

In this study, the flexible curtains are attached to the bottom of a rectangular floating breakwater as wave-dissipating components. Through a comprehensive experimental investigation, the wave attenuation, motion responses, and mooring forces of the proposed floating breakwater are examined, with a particular focus on the effects of wave height and the hanging length and porosity of the flexible curtain. Meanwhile, comparative analyses are conducted with the stand-alone rectangular floating breakwater and with attaching one rigid slotted barrier. Our experimental results indicate that one underhanging flexible curtain can augment wave attenuation across all tested wave conditions, which is comparable to the rigid slotted barrier. Furthermore, attaching two flexible curtains contributes to a more significant enhancement for harbor or coastal protection, especially against long waves. This can be attributed to the buffer function of flexible curtains, and the increased added mass induced by the water body confined between them, which increases the natural period of floating breakwaters. Furthermore, the attachment of the flexible curtains significantly suppresses the motion responses of the breakwater, which can alleviate the undesirable strong mooring forces. In general, increasing the length or decreasing the porosity of flexible curtains leads to similar trends in the performance of floating breakwaters. The flexible curtains have been proven to be effective wave-dissipating components for rectangular floating breakwaters.