Wave Height from Deep Water through Breaking Zone

Abstract

For a large series of hydraulic model tests performed at Queen's University, wave heights from deep water through the breaking zone can be described quite simply by linear shoaling, refraction, and friction, combined with a breaking criterion and one single‐wave‐decay calculation based on excess energy. This wave‐decay model was verified with other hydraulic‐model tests and applied to field results. Comparison with prototype results showed several inconsistencies. The field data indicated that nonlinear shoaling is sometimes required while linear shoaling is perfectly adequate for other cases. It was not possible to determine clearly when to use nonlinear shoaling. The energy dissipation rate for some field data was similar to that found in the hydraulic models, while for other field data sets the energy dissipation rate was much smaller. The difference in behavior of seemingly similar data sets cannot be readily explained by common parameters such as wave steepness and surf similarity. The field data also showed the need to incorporate spectral saturation in the calculations.