Coastal & Marine

Environment

Coastal & Marine Environment

Chapter

7 Wave
Transformation
Mazen Abualtayef
Assistant Prof., IUG, Palestine
Coastal & Marine
Environment
Wave Transformation
Chapter Wave transformation describes what happens to

7
waves as they travel from deep into shallow water

Diffraction

Shoaling
Deep Refraction

Shallow
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave Transformation
Wave transformation is concerned with the
Chapter changes in H, L, C and a, the wave angle

7 with the bottom contours; wave period T

remains constant throughout the process. To
derive the simpler solutions, wave
transformation is separated into wave
refraction and diffraction. Refraction is wave
transformation as a result of changes in
water depth. Diffraction is specifically not
concerned with water depth and computes
transformation resulting from other causes,
such as obstructions. Discussions about
wave refraction usually begin by calculating
depth related changes for waves that
approach a shore perpendicularly. This is
called wave shoaling.
Coastal & Marine
Environment Shoaling
b0
H0
Chapter

7
H

E is the wave energy density Coastline

Ks is the shoaling coefficient
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave refraction
Chapter • As waves approach shore, the part

7
of the wave in shallow water slows
down
• The part of the wave in deep water
continues at its original speed
• Causes wave crests to refract
(bend)
• Results in waves lining up nearly
parallel to shore
• Creates odd surf patterns
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave refraction
Chapter

7
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave refraction
Chapter

We can now draw wave rays (lines representing

the direction of wave propagation) perpendicular
to the wave crests and these wave rays bend
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave refraction
When the energy flux is conserved between the wave
Chapter rays, then

7 where b is the distance between adjacent wave rays.

Kr is the refraction coefficient

Coastal & Marine Another way to calculate Kr using the wave direction of
Environment
propagation by Snell’s Law

Chapter

7
Coastal & Marine
Environment Example 7.1
Simple Refraction-Shoaling Calculation
Chapter A wave in deep water has the following

7
characteristics: H0=3.0 m, T=8.0 sec and
a0=30°. Calculate H and a in 10m and 2m of
water depth.
Answer:
L0 = gT2/2π = 100m
For 10m depth:
d/L0 = 0.10 and from wave table,
d/L = 0.14, Tanh(kd) = 0.71 and n = 0.81
 Ks = 0.93
 a = 20.9°
 Kr = 0.96

 H = 2.70 m
Coastal & Marine
Environment

Chapter

7
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave breaking
Wave shoaling causes wave height to increase to
Chapter infinity in very shallow water as indicated in Fig. 7.1.

7
There is a physical limit to the steepness of the waves,
H/L. When this physical limit is exceeded, the wave
breaks and dissipates its energy. Wave heights are a
function of water depth, as shown in Fig. 7.7.
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave breaking
Chapter

7
Wave shoaling, refraction and diffraction
transform the waves from deep water to the
point where they break and then the wave
height begins to decrease markedly, because
of energy dissipation. The sudden decrease in
the wave height is used to define the breaking
point and determines the breaking parameters
(Hb, db and xb).
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave breaking
Chapter The breaker type is a function of the beach

7
slope m and the wave steepness H/L.

Miche, 1944

 b = 0.78 McCowan, 1894; Munk, 1949

Kamphuis,1991

(7.32)
Coastal & Marine
Environment
Example 7.2 - RSB spreadsheet
Chapter Refraction-Shoaling-Breaking

7
6.00

5.00 H (rs)
Wave Height (m)

Hb (H/L)
4.00
Hb (d/L)
3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00
0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00
Depth (m)

For this example with the beach slope m=0.02, Hb=2.9m

(Eq. 7.32) with ab=15.3°, in a depth of water of 4.9 m.
Coastal & Marine
Environment
Problem
Chapter

7 Given: T=10 sec, H0=4 m, a0=60°

Find: H and a at the depth of d =15.6 m
Check if the wave is broken at that depth
Assume  b  0.78
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave diffraction
Chapter Wave diffraction is concerned with the transfer

7 of wave energy across wave rays. Refraction

and diffraction of course take place
simultaneously. The only correct solution is to
compute refraction and diffraction together
using computer solutions. It is possible,
however, to define situations that are
predominantly affected by refraction or by
diffraction. Wave diffraction is specifically
concerned with zero depth change and solves
for sudden changes in wave conditions such
as obstructions that cause wave energy to be
forced across the wave rays.
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave diffraction
Propagation of a wave around an obstacle
Chapter

7
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave diffraction
Chapter

7
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave diffraction
Chapter
• Semi infinite rigid impermeable breakwater
7 • Through a gap
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave diffraction
Chapter

7
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave diffraction
The calculation of wave diffraction is quite complicated. For preliminary
calculations, however, it is often sufficient to use diffraction templates. One such
Chapter

7
template is presented in Fig. 7.10.
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave diffraction
Chapter

7
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave diffraction
Chapter

7 When shoaling, refraction and diffraction all

take place at the same time, wave height may
be calculated as
Coastal & Marine
Environment Wave reflection
Chapter

7 H r  Cr .H i
2
aI m
Cr  r
Ir 
b  Ir
2
H i / L0
Coastal & Marine
Environment Reflection The Wedge, Newport Harbor, Ca

Chapter Wave energy is

7 reflected
(bounced back)
when it hits a solid
object.
waves
Coastal & Marine
Environment Summary
Chapter What can affect the way that waves travel?

7 Wave refraction: the slowing and bending of

waves in shallow water.

Wave diffraction: propagation of a wave

around an obstacle.

Wave reflection: occurs when waves “bounce

back” from an obstacle they encounter.
Reflected waves can cause interference with
oncoming waves, creating standing waves.

Standing waves: are found in inlets and bays

They remain in a fixed position