Numerical simulation of nonlinear wave propagation over a bar

Numerical computations based on a one-dimensional time domain Boussinesq model with improved dispersion characteristics are carried out to model relatively long, unidirectional waves propagating over a submerged obstacle. Comparisons for non-breaking waves show good agreement between the numerical results and measurements obtained from experiments in a wave flume with a submerged trapezoidal bar. The observed phenomena of bound harmonics generation in the shoaling region (upslope) and their release, or wave decomposition, in the deepening part of the flume (downslope) are well predicted by the numerical model both for regular and random waves. The inclusion of the effects of wave breaking is briefly discussed.