Wave Induced Pressures and Forces on a Submerged Plate Breakwater

The hydrodynamics associated with the uplift on a submerged horizontal plate is of practical significance for the design of such breakwater structures. Dynamic pressure distribution beneath and over submerged and surface horizontal plates were investigated experimentally in a laboratory wave flume under regular waves with period ranging from 1.0 sec to 1.8 sec for wave heights of 6, 8 and 12 cm for different submergence ratios. The variation of the measured dynamic pressures along the top and bottom surfaces of the plate compare favourably with those computed using Direct Boundary Integration Method (DBIM) based on linear diffraction theory. The horizontal and vertical forces measured directly using the multi-component force balance are compared with the forces estimated from the integration of the pressure distribution over the plate as well as with the theoretical values obtained using DBIM. The theoretical results are found to be on a upper bound compared to the experimental values.