Author(s): Subaru Ken Muroi; Edoardo Bertone; Nick Cartwright; Fernando Alvarez

Linked Author(s): Edoardo Bertone

Keywords: Submerged breakwater; Shoreline morphology modeling; Data-driven modeling; Design optimization

Abstract: Submerged breakwaters are coastal protection structures that lie offshore, below the waters’ surface; they are ideal for controlling sediment transport at sandy open beaches while maintaining their natural appearance. However, the complex morpho-hydrodynamic interaction of a submerged structure in shallow waters makes its design with process-based models quite demanding. The current study proposes a hybrid, process-based and data-driven modeling approach to achieve a comprehensive analysis and optimization of the design parameters for submerged breakwaters. The process-based component consists of a coupled-model which maximizes the speed of the 1-line model without compromising the detailed hydrodynamic and morphodynamic effect calculated across the 2D domain. The 1-line model allows for an assessment of the accretion and erosion along the shoreline caused by the structure, and how this is affected by changes in environmental and structural parameters. The results to date indicate the 1-line model is able to successfully replicate the expected shoreline response as the wave climate changes. The outputs of a limited number of such computationally intensive process-based simulations will be used to create a dataset for a data-driven model, which will be able to find relationships and patterns between design features and coastal response, and in turn, identify the best design to achieve intended outcome (e.g., minimize erosion).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3850/IAHR-39WC2521711920221918

Year: 2022