Author(s): Constantine D. Memos
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Submerged breakwaters; Permeable mounds; Boussinesq models; Pore pressures; Internal velocities
Abstract: This paper presents in a concise form some recent results of our research team in the National Technical University of Athens dealing with submerged coastal structures. These structures are being nowadays studied intensively due to the advantages of environmental nature they offer on top of their engineering efficiency, when compared to their conventional emerged counterparts. Permeable submerged coastal structures present an extra ecological potential in providing habitats for marine life due to their increased porosity. Decisive parameters to assess this potential are the flow velocities and dynamic pressures present in the pores network of the structure. Thus study of the interaction between waves and submerged mounds is of paramound importance to estimate the environmental value of the structure in terms of internal velocities and pressures. This overview is devoted to both impermeable and permeable submerged coastal structures with the focus on the latter. Wave propagation was simulated by Boussinesq-type models including wave breaking modules. A Darcy-Forchheimer relation was coupled with those models to address the case of permeable structures. Results of velocity and pressure distributions inside the structure were compared with experimental data showing the robustness of the models developed as well as areas of required future research. Despite the fact that the theoretical assumptions underlying Boussinesq-type models were strained above their limits, it was found that they can provide results of the wave field inside and around submerged breakwaters adequate for engineering applications.
Year: 2013