The University of the West Indies Organization of

American States

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME:

COASTAL INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND
MAINTENANCE

A COURSE IN
COASTAL DEFENSE SYSTEMS I

CHAPTER 3

INTRODUCTION TO COASTAL ENGINEERING

By PATRICK HOLMES, PhD

Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Imperial College, England

Organized by Department of Civil Engineering, The University of the West Indies, in conjunction with Old
Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA and Coastal Engineering Research Centre, US Army, Corps of
Engineers, Vicksburg, MS, USA.

St. Lucia, West Indies, July 18-21, 2001

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THE PURPOSE OF
COASTAL ENGINEERING

RETURN ON CAPITAL INVESTMENT

BENEFITS:
Minimised Risk of Coastal Flooding - reduced costs and
disruption to services in the future.
Improved Environment, Preserve Beaches - visual,
amenity, recreational…...
COSTS:
Construction costs & disruption during construction.
Costs linked to avoidance of risks. (e.g., higher defences,
higher costs, including visual/access impacts, but lower risks)

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ORIGINS OF COASTAL PROBLEMS

1. Define the Problem.

• This needs to be based on sufficiently reliable INFORMATION
and requires a DATA BASE. For example, is the beach eroding or is it just
changing in shape seasonally and appears to have eroded after stormier
conditions? Beaches change from “winter” to “summer” profiles quite
regularly.
• Many coastal problems result from incorrect previous engineering
“solutions”. The sea is powerful and “cheap” solutions rarely work well.
• If the supply of sand to a beach is cut off or reduced it will erode
because beaches are always dynamic. It is a case of the balance between
supply to versus loss from a given area.
• A DATA BASE need not be extensive but in some cases
information is essential and there is a COST involved.
• A photographic record of a coastal area - photographs taken at the
same locations at the same times of the year - is cheap and very helpful. More
extensive data bases need surveys and other measurements, with increasing
costs.

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STEPS TOWARDS A SOLUTION

2. A FEASIBILITY STUDY.

• The size of the study is linked to the size of the problem.

• Defines/sketches the options for a solution in sufficient

detail to give an order of magnitude of the potential costs.

• Indicates the availability of expertise and materials needed.

• Provides a basis for discussion with and decisions of the

client.
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MARINE “FORCES”

TIDES:
• Regular and predictable because they are generated
by the attractions of the Moon and the Sun acting on the
oceans.
[High tide to Low tide ≈ Low tide to High tide,
typically 6 hours and 26 minutes, but modified by the local
land masses and coastal shape.]
WAVES:
• Generated by winds blowing over the ocean surface.
Therefore they are not regular - they are RANDOM. This
leads to the need to design for EXTREME EVENTS.
STORM SURGES:
• Increases in Mean Sea Level also generated by the
wind, therefore also RANDOM.
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WATER LEVELS AND MOTIONS

Mean Sea Level - Increasing due to

Global Warming (+0.5m by 2050?)

Tides - Moon and Sun, Regular and

Predictable.
“Spring Tides” “Neap Tides” - due to the
changing influence of the moon and the sun
every two weeks higher tides, Springs, and
alternate two weeks lower tides, Neaps.

HIGHEST ASTRONOMICAL TIDE

MEAN SEA LEVEL
LOWEST ASTRONOMICAL TIDE

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HIGHEST ASTRONOMICAL TIDE

H.A.T.
• Easily found by examining one year’s predicted
tidal heights for the site and selecting the highest
predicted level. This will be accurate to within a few
millimeters.
• It may be necessary to measure tide levels at a
site to relate them to predicted tidal levels and times at
the nearest port for which predictions are available.
• It would also be useful to note L.A.T. - Lowest
Astronomical Tide - indicates the width of a beach at
low tide etc.
• Levels MUST be related to the land-based
vertical datum use for the design.
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LAND-BASED FACTORS

WHAT LAND-BASED FACTORS

CONTROL THE DESIGN?

COASTAL ACTIVITIES
Agriculture Fisheries Forestry
Commerce Transport Tourism
Infrastructure Environment
Special Sites Sand/coral Mining
Waste-water Disposal
Quantify Scale and Economic Importance

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WINDS AND WAVES

WINDS - variable in speed and direction, seasonal.

IMPORTANCE:
Wind Loading.
Wind-induced “SET-UP” of the sea surface.
Wave Generation.
EXTREMES - as design criteria
“Return Period” - usually 50 years for design of
coastal structures, the “50 year Return Period”

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 GLOBAL WARMING - HIGHER WINDS?

IF WIND SPEED IN EXTREME STORMS INCREASE,

WAVE HEIGHTS, WAVE ENERGY ETC. INCREASE
NON-LINEARLY

WIND SPEED U + 5% +10%

1.0 1.05 1.10
WAVE HEIGHT 1.0 1.103 1.21 (U2)
WAVE ENERGY 1.0 1.22 1.46 (U4) (H2)
ROCK ARMOUR 1.0 1.34 1.77 (U6) (H3)

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WIND INDUCED STORM SURGE

WIND

SHEAR FORCE ON THE WATER SURFACE

WATER SURFACE SLOPES UPWARDS

IN RESPONSE

“STORM SURGE”

Set up is related to the SQUARE of the wind speed - more extreme winds
create a much larger set up the FIFTY YEAR RETURN PERIOD.

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EXTREME EVENTS
Similar Extrapolation for Extreme Winds.

100

Design Return Period 50 years.

Return Period (Years)

10

50 year Design
1
Wave, H = 6.2m
One year’s data

0
0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0

Wave Height (m)

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WAVES

UNIFORM WAVES - SAME HEIGHT AND SAME LENGTH

Speed (m/s)
Height (m)

Length (m)

Sea Bed

Wave Period = Time between successive waves (seconds)

Typically a 10 second wave will travel at 15 m/s. in deep water.
Its length in deep water will be 156m.

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WAVES

RANDOM WAVES different heights and lengths.

Average Wave Height; Significant Wave Height [HS] (m) etc…..

Highest Wave Height; (!) Zero Crossing Wave Period [TZ] (seconds)

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WAVES FOR DESIGN

Record waves for Three hours and calculate Hs and Tz for each record
Eight records per day, 2920 records per year. (with luck!)

STATISTICAL analysis to predict

EXTREME WAVE CONDITIONS.

WAVE DIRECTION - a critical parameter for coastal engineering

Can be measured but often has to be derived from wind data.

MINIMUM OF ONE YEAR’S DATA REQUIRED

[TAOS Wave Predictions for the Caribbean]

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WAVES IN SHALLOW WATER

CHANGE: HEIGHT, DIRECTION AND (EVENTUALLY) BREAK

SHOALING:
H1 H2 BREAKING

H2 > H1

REFRACTION:

SPREADING FOCUSSING

HH
HB
HH > HB
SHORELINE
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WAVES : SURF ZONE AND BEACH

BREAKING:
WHEN THE WATER DEPTH EQUALS THE WAVE HEIGHT (APPROX.)

Hb
db
Hb≈ db

SURF AND SWASH:

MAXIMUM RUN-UP
SURF ZONE - OVERTOPPING
SWASH ZONE
BROKEN WAVES
FLOODING !

BACKWASH

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SEDIMENT TRANSPORT ON COASTS

UNI-DIRECTIONAL FLOW:

FLOW SUSPENDED
LOAD
BED LOAD

WAVE-INDUCED TRANSPORT:

qOFF
WAVES

qOUT
T
M EN qIN
SEDI

qSHORE
ALONGSHORE TRANSPORT ∆q = qIN + qOUT + qSHORE + qOFF
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EFFECTS OF COASTAL STRUCTURES

A POCKET BEACH: q=0 q=0

STABLE BEACH

BARRIERS: (OFTEN MAN-MADE!)

SUPPLY BLOCKED BY HARBOUR

EROSION
ACCRETION

NET DIRECTION OF SEDIMENT MOTION P.Holmes, Imperial College,

London
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BEACH CONTROL STRUCTURES

GROYNES:

BY-PASSING - BY DESIGN

INCREASING COMPLEXITY - HIGHER EFFICIENCY ?

DETACHED BREAKWATERS:

TOMBOLA

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COAST PROTECTION - SEA WALLS, REVETMENTS

WAVE REFLECTION OVERTOPPING REDUCED REFLECTION AND OVERTOPPING

ENERGY ABSORBTION

POTENTIAL EROSION STABLE FOUNDATIONS

STABLE CREST
WAVE WALL - REDUCED
OVERTOPPING ROCK ARMOUR SLOPE

FILTER LAYER

TOE STABLILITY TOE STABILITY

ARMOUR: NATURAL ROCK (BLENDS), MAN-MADE UNITS (ARTIFICIAL)

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BEACH NOURISHMENT
VOLUME TO BE ADDED PER
UNIT LENGTH OF BEACH
Y
x
h = Ax2/3

NEW PROFILE
h

ORIGINAL PROFILE

CONCEPT OF EQUILIBRIUM PROFILE FOR A GIVEN SAND DIAMETER

1. IF IMPORTED SAND DIAMETER = NATIVE SAND DIAMETER THE
PROFILES WILL BE IDENTICAL.
2. IF IMPORTED SAND DIAMETER > NATIVE SAND DIAMETER THE NEW
PROFILE WILL BE STEEPER, THE BEACH WILL BE MORE STABLE AND A
LOWER VOLUME OF SAND WILL BE NEEDED.
[NOTE: TOO STEEP - DANGEROUS FOR BATHING!]
3. COUPLE WITH MEASURES TO CONTROL SAND LOSS ALONGSHORE.
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BREAKWATERS
BEACH, BERTH AND MOORING PROTECTION

ARMOUR LAYER W OVERTOPPING

UNDERLAYER W/2 TO W/20

FILTER LAYER CREST

TOE STABILITY
CORE

PREVENT LOSS
OF FINES FROM
THE CORE

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COAST PROTECTION AS AN OPPORTUNITY

1. PRIMARY PURPOSE: PROTECT AGAINST

OVERTOPPING/FLOODING
2. FACTORS: VISUAL INTRUSION
ADDED AMENITY - SPORTS
LEISURE/SOCIAL
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
3. MANAGEMENT: MONITOR
4. DESIGN FOR ENHANCEMENT: SEA LEVEL RISE
HIGHER STORMS

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 Xtra

What can go here to improve amenity

Power boat/jet-ski ramp
value?
Car parking
Coffee shop/bar
Sailing dinghy/wind-surfer ramp
Scuba/diving centre

Segregate activities - safety

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DATA COLLECTION “KIT” LEVEL 1.

Level, Staff and Tape.

Digital Camera
Hand-held GPS
Digital Compass
Yacht-type Echo Sounder (12v supply)
Sample Bags

Reference Grid (x,y) Survey Land Levels (z)

Bathymetric Survey (-z) referenced to MSL Datum
Photographic Record (minimum 3 monthly and after any
storm)
Sample Beach and Nearshore Material
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