Shoaling of Solitary Waves on Small Slopes

Abstract

It is proposed that solitary waves can be used as the initial wave shape to simulate the shoaling and breaking of large, long waves on a beach. Experiments were conducted with solitary waves to determine criteria for wave growth, celerity, and breaking height on various beach slopes. Various analytical means of representing shoaling waves are considered. Further considerations are given to the method of characteristics as a means of analyzing shoaling waves, and a qualitative analysis is presented of the effect of vertical acceleration terms on the characteristics solution. A comparison is made between experimental results and the analytical solutions.