The SWAN wave model is widely used in coastal waters and the main focus of this work is on its application in a harbor. Its last released version - SWAN 40.51 - includes an approximation to compute diffraction, however, so far there are few published works that discuss this matter. The performance of the model is therefore investigated in a harbor where reflection and diffraction play a relevant role. To assess its estimates, a phase-resolving Boussinesq wave model is employed as well, together with measurements carried out at a small-scale model of the area behind the breakwater. For irregular, short-crested waves with broad directional spreading, the importance of diffraction is relatively small. On the other hand, reflection of the incident waves is... |