Comparative analysis of sea wave dissipation induced by three flow mechanisms

A comparative analysis is performed on the wave energy dissipation efficiency on various coastal protection devices. In-house experimental data on the performance of two innovative coastal defence methods and of traditional submerged breakwaters have been used. The analysis provides a quantitative comparison of the efficiency of wave dissipators based on either wave-breaking turbulence, near-bed turbulence, or inside-seabed turbulence decay. The comparison is made on the basis of wave height decay patterns described as a function of suitable dimensionless parameters. The dimensionless volume of maximum turbulence decay is found to be a useful parameter for the analysis. Efficiencies in reducing the intensity of the incident waves are measured by the wave transmission coefficient, which is found to range between 0.4 and 1.0. Submerged breakwaters were found to be the most efficient wave dissipators, especially for large waves, while comparable efficiencies are provided by the three mechanisms under analysis if the flow is forced by moderate waves.