Diffraction of water waves by a segmented permeable breakwater

The linearized theory of water waves is used to examine the diffraction of an incident wave by a permeable breakwater that consists of a number of distinct elements. Under the assumption that the wavelength is much greater than the thickness, each element is replaced by a thin structure and the permeability is modeled by a suitable boundary condition applied on its surface. The diffracted wave field is obtained by the solution of an integral equation and results are presented to illustrate the effects of permeability and of the characteristics of the incident wave.