Numerical simulation of solitary wave/breakwater interaction using SPH

Interactions between solitary wave and different types of breakwaters are investigated in this paper. Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method has been applied to simulate the time histories of fluid motion, free surface deformation, the velocity field in the vicinity of breakwaters, and overtopping volumes. The solitary wave is generated by a heavily weighted block sinking vertically into water at one end of a long flume; the breakwater has been constructed in the other end. A rectangular receptacle is constructed behind breakwater to calibrate overtopping volume. The accuracy of SPH is addressed via a comparison to previously recognized benchmarks, and then the characteristics of wave impacts on breakwaters and their effectiveness of hindering wave overtopping are discussed based on computational results.