Download - Breakwaters
What is Breakwater?
Breakwater is a structure that protects the area within it from wave attack.
What’s the Need of Breakwater?
To provide shelter from waves.
Through this shelter, to manipulate the littoral/sand transport conditions and thereby to trap some sand entrance inside the Anchorage Area.
Availability of materials of construction.
Depth of water at site of construction.
Nature of natural foundations.
Equipment available for construction.
Funds and time available for construction.
Rubble mound breakwaters (Conventional Type)
Vertical wall/front breakwaters ( Widely Used)
Reef breakwatersRarely used
Piled breakwaters
(Based on the Materials Available on Nearby Site)
Objectives :-
To be able to make an assessment of hydraulic loads against caisson breakwater
To be able to make a preliminary design of a caisson breakwater (length, width, height)
To be able to compare caisson breakwater against rubble mound breakwater ie, on basis of material usage
FUNCTIONS
Wave protection in port/channel
Protection from siltation,
currents
Tsunami protection
Berthing facilities
Access/transport facilityGijon (Spain)IJmuiden (Netherlands)Kamaishi (Japan)Marsaxlokk (Malta)Ras Laffan (Qatar)
TYPES
(breakwaters with vertical and inclined concrete walls)
Conventional type
The caisson is placed on a relatively thin stone bedding.
Advantage of this type is the minimum use of natural rock (in case scarce)
Wave walls are generally placed on shore connected caissons (reduce overtopping)
Mutsu-Ogawara (Japan)
TYPES (continued)
Vertical composite type
The caisson is placed on a high rubble foundation.
This type is economic in deep waters, but requires substantial volumes of (small size) rock fill for foundationAlgeciras (Spain)
TYPES (continued)
Horizontal composite type
The front slope of the caisson is covered by
armour units
This type is used in shallow water. The mound
reduces wave reflection, wave impact and wave
overtopping
Repair of displaced vertical breakwaters
Used when a (deep) quay is required at the
inside of rubble mound breakwater
Gela (Sicily, Italy)
TYPES (continued)
Block type
This type of breakwater needs to be
placed on rock sea beds or on very
strong soils due to very high foundation
loads and sensitivity to differential
settlements
Alderney (Guernsey, UK)
TYPES (continued)
Piled breakwater with concrete
wall
Piled breakwaters consist of an
inclined or vertical curtain wall
mounted on pile work.
The type is applicable in less severe
wave climates on site with weak and soft
subsoils with very thick layers.
Manfredonia New Port (Italy)
TYPES (continued)
Sloping top
The upper part of the front slope
above still water level is given a slope to
reduce wave forces and improve the
direction of the wave forces on the
sloping front.
Overtopping is larger than for a
vertical wall with equal level.Napels (Italy)
TYPES (continued)
Perforated front wall
The front wall is perforated by holes
or slots with a wave chamber behind.
Due to the dissipation of energy both
the wave forces on the caisson and the
wave reflection are reduced
Dieppe (France)
TYPES (continued)
Semi-circular caisson
Well suited for shallow water
situations with intensive wave breaking
Due to the dissipation of energy both
the wave forces on the caisson and the
wave reflection are reduced
Miyazaki Port (Japan)
TYPES (continued)
Dual cylindrical caisson
Outer permeable and inner impermeable cylinder.
Low reflection and low permeable
Centre chamber and lower ring
chamber fills with sand
Nagashima Port (Japan)
TYPES (continued)
“Combi-caisson”
Sloping top
Semi-circular/perforated
Perforated front wall
Perforated rear wall
What is needed?
Proper understanding of functional requirements
Proper understanding of loads and resistance
Insight in failure modes
Understanding of breaking/non-breaking waves
Functional requirements
Access
Quay facilities
Overtopping
Transmission
Requirements: acces (pedestrians, supply traffic)
Piraeus (Greece)
Requirements: acces (harbour workers, traffic, oil piping)
Marsaxlokk (Malta)
Requirements: acces (harbour workers, traffic, Liquefied
Natural Gas (LNG) piping)
Ras Laffan (Qatar)
Requirements: acces (harbour workers, traffic, conveyors)
Porto Torres (Sicily, Italy)
Requirements: quay facilities (access, warehouses, sheds)
Constantza Port (Romania)
Requirements: quay facilities (access, warehouses, sheds)
Durres Port (Albania)
Requirement: limit overtopping and transmission of water
Marina do Lugar de Baixo (Madeira, Portugal)
Vertical Wall Breakwaters - Loads and resistance
Loads and resistanceLoads:
Hydraulic loads Weight
Resistance:
Friction (mostly) Soil bearing capacity
Vertical Wall Breakwaters - Loads and resistanceFailure modes (overall)
Hydraulic failure
SlidingOverturning
U
Vertical Wall Breakwaters - Loads and resistance
Failure modes (local)
Instability of moundErosion of seabed Partial
Instability
UErosion Scour
Example overall failure: Mutsu Ogawara Port, East Breakwater (Japan)
Example local failure: Catania Breakwater (Sicily, Italy)
Disadvantages:-
Construction cost is high.
Can be easily displaced by waves.
Don’t absorb all energy due to the gaps
between breakwater.
Aesthetically seems to be bad.
Advantages:-
Easy to repair.
Protects the shore.
Functions after minor damage.
Don’t disturb the shoreline.
Protection of the Ports or Harbors from the Natural Calamities such as
Tsunami is essential. But exact prediction of Natural Calamities is not
possible, but some extent of it can be prevented by Breakwater
Construction.
Protection of the Ports or Harbors from the Siltation & Wave Action is
done by providing a economical & suitable type of Breakwaters.
Instead of using Armor Blocks the Sand Bags may be used to Protect or
Safe Guard the Shores to some extent . Shore Protection in Quatar
Indian Standard Code of practice for planning and design of ports and
harbours part 4 general design considerations [Third Revision of IS 4651 (Part
4)].
PIANC; Breakwaters with Vertical and Inclined Concrete Walls, Report WG
28, 2003.
US Army Corp of Engineers. 1985. Shore Protection Manual. Washington,
D.C., US Army Corp of Engineers.