•  
  •  
 

Abstract

A more effective numerical model using the dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM) is presented to study the combined effects of wave refraction- diffraction and currents. The mildslope equation with current effects is reformulated to an inhomogeneous Helmholtz equation. Applying the conventional boundary element method to this inhomogeneous equation, the inhomogeneous part will result in a domain integral which makes the computation complicated and messy. To improve this drawback, the DRBEM is adopted to transform the domain integral to boundary integral. In order to verify the validity of this model, the relative amplitudes around a circular island without current effects were performed, and compared with analytical solutions of Homma (1950). The agreement is fairly satisfactory. The combined effects of wave refractiondiffraction and currents around a circular island over a variable water depth were calculated by this model. The results show that the model has a great potential to be used for solving the problem of combined wave refraction-diffraction and currents.

COinS