Author(s)

C.M. Lemos

Abstract

The impact of a solitary wave on an obstacle placed above the still water level has been investigated using a numerical model capable of treating arbitrary free surfaces and internal obstacles of general shape. Two different conditions have been considered, one with the boundaries of the computational domain adjacent to the obstacle open, and another with these boundaries closed (to simulate an impact in confined conditions). It was found that the maximum force produced in confined conditions was the same as for open conditions but that in confined conditions there was more than one peak in the total force. The results obtained in this work should prove useful for calculating the forces due to the impact of waves on piers (or similar structures), or in the study of the behaviour of floating breakwaters. 1. Introduction The ca

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