Hydrodynamic performance of pile supported breakwaters – a review

This paper reviews the progress on the hydrodynamic characteristics of pile-supported breakwaters. Partially immersed vertical barriers in general are found to perform well in reducing the transmission of waves in deep-waters. Structures in the marine environment are often required to attenuate the wave energy, in particular to serve as berthing facility on their leeside and at the same time maintaining lesser reflection. Several attempts in this direction have been made in the past and in general, structures with a porous front face such as wave screens are preferred to satisfy this requirement. In addition, curved front face structures also are sought to dissipate incident wave energy. It is observed that profiles such as Circular cum Parabola (CPS), Galveston (GS) and Flaring Shaped (FSS) employed for seawalls exhibit significant wave energy dissipation. However, these seawall profiles are yet to be used as a breakwater supported on piles. The efficiency of these unconventional shapes in combination with wave screens in ensuring the required harbor tranquility with reduced reflection is an area requiring further research.