Model studies on the movement of sand under different orientations of a breakwater

Abstract

Series of experiments using fluorescent tracers on the sand movement in the surf zone under different orientations of a breakwater on a straight beach normal to the direction of wave approach were carried out. The studies show that for low amplitude waves, the breakwater acts as a reflecting surface causing a general spreading of the sediment. The alongshore drifting of sand increases with increasing wave heights and with increase in the inclination of the breakwater with the wave direction. The alongshore movement is more in the surf zone than offshore when the breakwater is oriented at wider angles to the direction of wave approach