ANALYTICAL AND NUMERICAL STUDIES FOR THE REDUCTION OF WAVE RUN-UP HEIGHT BY A SUBMERGED BREAKWATER

Abstract

: Submerged breakwaters are designed to reduce the wave run-up in coastal areas. The
effectiveness can be modelled using numerical methods. The Nonlinear Shallow Water Equation has been
applied as the fundamental model. The equation has been solved analytically and numerically to obtain the
run-up coefficient. The results from the analytical and numerical solutions have been combined with published
experimental data to validate the analytical model and numerical scheme. It is found that both analytical and
numerical results are in a very good agreement with the experimental data with relatively small errors.
Furthermore, the numerical scheme has been implemented to observe the influence of the breakwater’s
characteristics, such as its height and length, towards the reduction of wave run-up. From the observation, the
optimum size of the breakwater is determined to reduce the wave run-up as much as possible. The results can
be applied to future design of submerged breakwaters for reducing long wave run-up.