Experiments on wave transmission coefficients of floating breakwaters

To find a simple, inexpensive, and effective type of floating breakwater for deep-sea aquaculture, we studied three types of structures: the single box, the double box, and the board net. We conducted two-dimensional physical model tests in a wave-current flume in the laboratory to measure the wave transmission coefficients of the three types of breakwaters under regular waves with or without currents. Based on the initial comparison of the wave transmission coefficients, we proposed the use of the board-net floating breakwater for use with fish cages; we then conducted detailed experiments to examine how wave transmission coefficients are affected by several factors, including the width of the board, the row number of the net, the rigidity of the board, and the current velocity. The experimental results show that the board-net floating breakwater, which is a simple and inexpensive type of structure, can effectively protect fish and fish cages and may be adopted for aquaculture engineering in deep-water regions. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.