Diffraction of oblique waves by thick rectangular barriers

A complete analytical solution is presented for the linear diffraction of oblique waves by horizontal rectangular cylinders either fixed at the free surface or mounted on the sea bed in a finite-depth of water. Helmholtz equation is employed as the governing differential equation obtained by reducing the 3-D oblique wave scattering problem to a 2-D case. According to the method proposed, the fluid region is divided into three sub-regions in which the governing differential equation is solved by the separation of variables. The solutions for each region are then matched on the common boundaries of sub-regions to determine the unknowns of the eigen series expansions and Fourier series. Thus transmitted and reflected waves are obtained in the far-field, and forces and moments acting on the rectangular cylinder fixed at the free surface are also given. Comparisons are made in order to check the accuracy of the method.