Experimental optimization of perforated structures in presence of ship-generated waves

Due to waves generated by ferries and motorboats in Venice's canals, the navigation of small vessels, such as typical gondolas, has recently become more and more difficult. With the goal of reducing ferry- and motorboat-generated waves, 2 types of perforated breakwaters have been considered. After a preliminary sizing by using a mathematical model, the structures have been tested with experiments on physical models. Transient wave trains, similar to the ship waves observed in Venetian canals, have been considered incident loads. A wavelet transform-based method has been used to evaluate breakwaters' reflection coefficients. This paper looks at presenting an optimization-design procedure for perforated breakwaters subject to ship-generated transient waves. Since the breakwaters are going to be in Venice, an area of great architectural and environmental interest, their visual impact was one of the most important issues in our analysis.