Experimental study and analysis of flow field characteristics of floating breakwaters with different cross-sectional shapes

As a critical protective facility in marine engineering, floating breakwaters serve as an essential technical means for mitigating marine environmental risks and ensuring the safety of engineering structures. Given that the shape of floating breakwaters significantly influences their energy dissipation effectiveness, this study systematically investigates the wave attenuation efficiency and dynamic response characteristics of rectangular, trapezoidal, and triangular floating breakwaters. In the study, six floating breakwater models were constructed by designing trapezoidal floating breakwaters with six different base angles. A combined approach of physical wave tank experiments and numerical simulations was employed to analyze the wave attenuation performance and dynamic response characteristics of these six models. The findings reveal that under constant wave height, draft depth, and period conditions, the 45° trapezoidal floating breakwater, with its gentler slope, more effectively suppresses mooring force growth, thereby extending the service life of the floating structure. Furthermore, precise adjustment of the inclination angle enables optimization of the breakwater's wave-attenuation performance under various operational conditions.