Asymptotic Formulas for the Reflection/Transmission of Long Water Waves Propagating in a Tapered and Slender Harbor

Abstract

We obtain asymptotic formulas for the reflection/transmission coefficients of linear long water waves, propagating in a harbor composed of a tapered and slender region connected to uniform inlet and outlet regions. The region with variable character obeys a power-law. The governing equations are presented in dimensionless form. The reflection/transmission coefficients are obtained for the limit of the parameter κ2≪1, which corresponds to a wavelength shorter than the characteristic horizontal length of the harbor. The asymptotic formulas consider those cases when the geometry of the harbor can be variable in width and depth: linear or parabolic among other transitions or a combination of these geometries. For harbors with nonlinear transitions, the parabolic geometry is less reflective than the other cases. The reflection coefficient for linear transitions just presents an oscillatory behavior. We can infer that the deducted formulas provide as first approximation a practical reference to the analysis of wave reflection/transmission in harbors.