Author(s): Hongyi Li; Wei Xing; Cuiping Kuang; Xiaodan Mao; Jilong Chen; Liyuan Chen

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: Ecological reef; Wave parameters; Wave energy dissipation

Abstract: A new coastal protection measure, the ecological reef-type submerged breakwater (ERSB, i. e., the reef accompanied with interior vegetation), is proposed to protect coasts and maintain the ecological biodiversity in this study. Based on the experimental observations of the ERSB in the wave flume, it has been studied how the ERSB impacts the wave parameters and wave energy dissipation when the waves cross the breakwater. When waves propagate through the ERSB, the abrupt water depth reduction on the ERSB crest leads to a significant wave deformation with the wave crest becoming sharp and the wave troughs becoming flat. The shoaling effect causes wave breaking and wave dissipation. To be more specific, the mean wave height reduces nearly 50%, the total wave energy dissipates by 74% ~ 81%, and the wave energy will move to the high-frequency region. Especially, when the incident wave height is greater than 0.14 m, the strong shoaling effects result in wave breaking, which can reduce the wave height even further and limit the wave energy transfer to higher frequencies.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64697/978-90-835589-7-4_41WC-P2020-cd

Year: 2025