The effect of groins characteristic on sandy beach stability

Abstract

Groins are one of the most important facilities used to protect coastal regions. In this research, groins made from a concrete cube were tested experimentally. This research investigates the impact of groin length (Lg) of 105, 135, and 165 cm and groin angle with the normal axis of the shoreline (θ) of 0^°, 10^°, 20^°, and 30° under different dimensionless wave numbers (khg), from 0.34 to 1.26, with the beach slope of 8:1. The units used to indicate erosion and deposition are dimensionless erosion depth (Smax/h), dimensionless deposition height (Dmax/h), and dimensionless erosion hole length (lsmax/h). The sandy bed changes and wave reflection from the groin were monitored. The results showed that the angle of 30° had more impact on beach stability than that of 0°, and more sediments were eroded by short groins than by long ones. The reflection of waves from groins was also studied as a function of the reflection coefficient (kr). As concluded, short groins reflect higher waves than long ones.