3D experimental investigation of floating breakwater with symmetrical openings and wing structures

To enhance the efficiency of floating breakwaters (FB) in attenuating long-period waves, a novel design featuring wing structures and forward openings was proposed. Both experimental and numerical studies were conducted in a two-dimensional wave tank to validate the feasibility and efficiency of its innovative wave dissipation mechanism. Nevertheless, the three-dimensional (3D) performance of the new configuration has not been thoroughly explored. Additionally, a portion of the wave energy impacting the rear wall of the FB propagates to the sheltered area, negatively affecting wave dissipation. Therefore, this paper presents an improved design and experimentally investigates its 3D hydrodynamic performance. The enhanced FB incorporates wing structures and symmetrical opening tunnels to augment wave energy dissipation. A comprehensive FB system, including the main body, connection structures, and mooring system, was meticulously engineered. A series of experiments were conducted in a wave pool, and the results demonstrate superior wave attenuation performance and minimal motion response of the novel FB. Furthermore, the effect of diffraction waves on wave attenuation performance was also investigated. The mooring system experiences uniform and minimal loading, confirming its design effectiveness. Consequently, the proposed 3D FB system exhibits promising potential for practical engineering applications.