Numerical and experimental investigation on a dual pontoon supported compartmentalized porous cages

Abstract

The remarkable efficiency of porous cage configurations in various marine settings has garnered substantial attention in ocean applications. The present study investigates gravity wave interaction with dual pontoon-supported porous cages numerically and experimentally. The boundary value problem is solved within the framework of a linearized potential flow theory using the Dual Boundary Element Method (DBEM). The mathematical model is validated with known results in the literature and against physical model studies. The effect of cage compartmentalization, porosity, wave height, and cage width are parametrically studied for the scattering coefficients (reflection, transmission, and energy loss). The study reveals that introducing porous cages reduces the maximum wave reflection up to 71%, whereas the wave transmission increased up to 33.3% in the intermediate regions (pi/10 < k(0)h < t). The maximum wave transmission was reduced by 6.25% and 92.5% in the shallow water regions ( < k(0)h < t) and deep water regions ( < k(0)h < t), respectively. Interestingly, doubling the chamber width leads to a reduction in wave transmission of up to 15.2% in the intermediate water regime. The study results are expected to be useful in the real field implementations of nearshore aquaculture cages, floating breakwaters, floating solar photovoltaic platforms, etc., by careful selection of platform parameters.