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Floating breakwaters are used for wave damping applications. Scrap tires can be used as floating breakwaters, since they are available in plenty around the world. However, the question is 'How to configure them for effective wave damping?'. A detailed experimental research has been carried out for this question and the results were presented in this paper. Physical models of nine different scrap tire floating breakwater configurations were studied in a range of random wave fields. It was found that wave transmission coefficients (ratio of transmitted wave height to incident wave height) of 0.036 to 0.2 can be obtained for relatively shorter wave lengths. For relatively longer waves, wave transmission coefficients in the range of 0.13 to 0.35 were observed. By increasing the number of rows of scrap tires from 4 to 8 or increasing the layers from 1 to 2, improved wave damping was achieved for longer waves. Multiple regression analysis was carried out and empirical equations were proposed for predicting the wave transmission coefficients for all the models studied. Case studies for coastal erosion protection of two specific sites (the beaches of Kennedy Space Center in the U.S. and Qaru Island in Kuwait) were also reported in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrodynamic characteristics (wave transmission, reflection, and dissipation) of nine different scrap-tire floating breakwater configurations are studied in a wave flume for a wide range of input wave conditions. The breakwater has 3 different configurations: a) four and b) eight rows of tires as well as c) four rows in two levels. The effect of these configurations is assessed on the hydrodynamic performance as determined by wave transmission and reflection. Wave transmission coefficients > 0.75 were obtained for relatively longer wavelengths. For relatively shorter wavelengths (d/L > 0.4, where d is the water depth and L the wavelength), the wave transmission coefficients decreased to ≤ 0.25. Increasing the number of rows, from four to eight, reduced the coefficients of transmission and prevented resonance for both the longer and shorter wavelengths. Furthermore, increasing the number of layers, from one to two, increased the coefficient of reflection from 0.4 to 0.5. To predict the wave transmission coefficients for all configurations, multiple regression analysis was implemented to produce empirical equations. Based on the performance of all tested configurations with regular waves, an optimal configuration was selected to delay beach erosion under the influence of moderate wave climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]