Huang, W.; Li, S.; Lu, Y., and Zhang, R., 2024. Hydrodynamic characteristics of an ecological revetment cavity structure under the propagation of ship-generated waves in a restricted channel. Journal of Coastal Research, 40(2), 382–394. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208.

With the rapid development of inland waterway transportation and the rapid increase of ship traffic in restricted channels, the role of ship-generated waves on the restricted channel shore slope becomes increasingly significant. Some river bank protection projects use cavity structures to prevent bank slopes from being scoured and have achieved remarkable results. However, the hydrodynamic characteristics under the action of ship traveling waves inside and outside the cavity are not yet clear. Thus, this paper studies the time and frequency domain characteristics of ship-generated wave fluctuations, flow velocity distribution characteristics, and turbulence distribution characteristics in the cavity, under the action of ship-generated waves, by conducting self-propelled ship model flume tests using a new type of cavity shore protection structure applied to a restricted channel. This study investigates the application of such a structure to shallow water coastal areas with frequent ship traffic. The corresponding results demonstrate that during the ship traveling wave transfer to the cavity, the fluctuation frequency did not change significantly, and fluctuation energy concentrated in the frequency range of 0–1.5 Hz. The high-frequency (0.40–1.5 Hz) energy is concentrated in the secondary wave process, and the low-frequency (0–0.40 Hz) energy is observed throughout the fluctuation process. The cavity structure changes the flow velocity from low-frequency periodic flow to high-frequency oscillatory flow, and the frequency of flow velocity change tends to be uniformly distributed with significantly enhanced turbulence. The cavity's maximum wave height, flow velocity, and turbulence energy positively correlate with the self-propelled velocity of the vessel V_c. Moreover, the characteristic values increase slowly for V_c in the subcritical velocity region (Fr_h < 0.84), and the characteristic values increase sharply for V_c in the transcritical velocity region (0.84 < Fr_h < 1.12).