Scattering theory and cancellation of gravity-flexural waves of floating plates

We combine theories of scattering for linearized water waves and flexural waves in thin plates to characterize and achieve control of water wave scattering using floating plates. This requires manipulating a sixth-order partial differential equation with appropriate boundary conditions of the velocity potential. Making use of multipole expansions, we reduce the scattering problem to a linear algebraic system. The response of a floating plate in the quasistatic limit simplifies, considering a distinct behavior for water and flexural waves. Unlike similar studies in electromagnetics and acoustics, scattering of gravity-flexural waves is dominated by the zeroth-order multipole term and this results in non-vanishing scattering cross-section also in the zero-frequency limit. Potential applications lie in floating structures manipulating ocean waves.