Nonlinear effect of wave propagation in shallow water

In this paper, a nonlinear model is presented to describe wave transformation in shallow water with the zero- vorticity equation of wave- number vector and energy conservation equation. The nonlinear effect due to an empirical dispersion relation (by Hedges) is compared with that of Dalrymple's dispersion relation. The model is tested against the laboratory measurements for the case of a submerged elliptical shoal on a slope beach, where both refraction and diffraction are significant. The computation results, compared with those obtained through linear dispersion relation, show that the nonlinear effect of wave transformation in shallow water is important. And the empirical dispersion relation is suitable for researching the nonlinearity of wave in shallow water.