On the energy transmission by a submerged barrier interacting with a solitary wave

The present work deals with a laboratory investigation on the wave transmission at a submerged breakwater under the action of solitary waves. Experiments were undertaken in the wave flume of the University of Calabria with the use of four resistance wave gauges placed two before and two after a rigid square barrier, adopting three different water depths. The calculation of the transmission coefficients was carried out using wave amplitudes or wave energies. To validate the latter approach, some numerical experiments were successfully performed using two different numerical models: the Lagrangian 6-LES-SPH and the Eulerian Ansys Fluent. The energy content of various waveforms involved in the interaction was analyzed in depth, also taking into account reflection, viscous effects and dissipation. For practical engineering applications, wave transmission coefficients were deduced by semi-empirical equations as a function of the wave non-linearity and the relative height of the breakwater.