Coastal Protection (DM-26.2), Section 1: Introduction and Wave Theory

This section opens the Navy design manual on coastal protection. It covers the cancellations and related criteria, then gives the background in wave theory that every later section depends on.

It explains the general approaches to wave problems and the classifications of waves, then introduces wave theory and the wave parameters, including definitions, relative depth, and wavelength. It finishes with wave transformations, which describe what happens as waves move toward shore: shoaling, refraction, diffraction, decay, and breaking.

These ideas are the language of coastal design, so the rest of the manual is much easier to follow after reading this section.

In this chapter

• Cancellations and Related Criteria
• General
  • Approaches
  • Wave classifications
• Wave Theory
• Wave Parameters
  • Definitions
  • Relative depth
  • Wavelength
• Wave Transformations
  • Wave shoaling
  • Wave refraction
  • Wave diffraction
  • Wave decay
  • Wave breaking