Some scattering and sloshing problems in linear water wave theory

Abstract

Using the method of matched asymptotic expansions the reflection and transmission coefficients are calculated for scattering of oblique water waves by a vertical barrier. Here an assumption is made that the barrier is small compared to the wavelength and the depth of water.

A number of sloshing problems are considered. The eigenfrequencies are calculated when a body is placed in a rectangular tank. Here the bodies considered are a vertical surface-piercing or bottom-mounted barrier, and circular and elliptic cylinders.

When the body is a vertical barrier, the eigenfunction expansion method is applied. When the body is either a circular or elliptic cylinder, and the motion is two-dimensional, the boundary element method is applied to calculate the eigenfrequencies. For comparison, two approximations, "a wide-spacing", and "a small-body" are used for a vertical barrier and circular cylinder. In the wide-spacing approximation, the assumption is made that the wavelength is small compared with the distance between the body and walls. The small-body approximation means that a typical dimension of the body is much larger than the cross-sectional length scale of the fluid motion.

For an elliptic cylinder, the method of matched asymptotic expansions is used and compared with the result of the boundary- element method. Also a higher-order solution is obtained using the method of matched asymptotic expansions, and it is compared with the exact solution for a surface-piercing barrier. Again the assumption is made that the length scale of the motion is much larger than a typical body dimension.

Finally, the drift force on multiple bodies is considered the ratio of horizontal drift force in the direction of wave advance on two cylinders to that on an isolated cylinder is calculated. The method of matched asymptotic expansions is used under the assumption that the wavelength is much greater than the cylinder spacing.