Numerical estimation of wave breaking forces on seawalls

This paper presents a computationally efficient numerical scheme to estimate wave forces from plunging breakers on vertical rigid seawalls. The approximated velocity equation, an asymptotical solution of the Green-Naghdi equation in the Camassa-Holm scaling, is utilized to obtain the evolution of the free surface and the depth-averaged horizontal velocity over time, leading to the formation of a plunging breaker. The uniform dynamic pressure along the depth is obtained by utilizing the unsteady Bernoulli equation. The wave forces on seawalls are then determined using Froude-Krylov theory, with adjustments for diffraction effects. The results, while being comparable to some existing formulations, notably differ with some others. This highlights the limitations imposed by the inherent assumptions in the existing empirical formulations and underlines the importance of the proposed methodology that is founded on an accurate modelling of the wave breaking process to estimate wave breaking forces on seawalls.