Experimental Studies of Pneumatic and Hydraulic Break Waters

Abstract

Experimental studies were conducted on two similar models of both pneumatic and hydraulic breakwaters, having a length ratio of 4.5:1. Tests of the pneumatic system indicated that the horsepower requirements for a given percentage of attenuation depended only on the wave length, the submergence of the manifold, and the depth of water. Multiple-manifold breakwaters with different spacings between manifolds were tried and found to be of no particular advantage over the one-manifold system. An intermittent bubbler device was also tested very briefly, showing very little difference from the one-manifold data. Tests of the hydraulic system indicated that power requirements varied with wave steepness as well as wave length. Orifice area was a very important parameter as this affected the discharge requirements and the required size of supply piping. The power requirements of the pneumatic system are somewhat less than the hydraulic for average values of wave steepness, but the maximum attenuation achieved was less than the hydraulic.