Hydrodynamics of a free-floating cylinder in front of an orthogonal vertical wall

ABSTRACT The paper deals with the analytical evaluation of the linearized exciting wave forces; hydrodynamic coefficients and wave drift forces acting on a free-floating vertical cylindrical body placed in front of a reflecting orthogonal vertical wall. Linear potential theory is assumed, and the associated diffraction and radiation problems are solved in the frequency domain. The hydrodynamic interactions among the body and the adjacent breakwater are taken into account by applying a theoretical model based on the method of images, considering the breakwater as a fully reflecting, bottom mounted and water surface piercing wall of infinite length. The theoretical approach is supplemented by a numerical model considering the orthogonal breakwater as a barrier of finite length. The results of both formulations are compared with the ones corresponding to an isolated cylindrical body demonstrating the amplified scattered and reflected waves at specific frequency ranges originating from the presence of the orthogonal breakwater.