Water Waves in Harbor Areas: Appreciation of Open Boundary Conditions

Abstract

Open boundary conditions significantly influence the results of a water wave numerical model based on the mild slope equation. An integral equation is written on an arc of a circle for a harbor area limited by two semi-infinite, fully reflective, straight dikes of any direction. This formulation, providing useful idealized tests for practical use, is compared with parabolic approximations in an analytical test case and for a schematic harbor. Parabolic approximations provide excellent results if the reflected wavefield generated from the exterior dikes is well known.