Hydrodynamic effects produced by submerged breakwaters in a coastal area with a curvilinear shoreline

Abstract

A three-dimensional numerical study of the hydrodynamic effect produced by a system of submerged breakwaters in a coastal area with a curvilinear shoreline is proposed. The three-dimensional model is based on an integral contravariant formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations in a time-dependent curvilinear coordinate system. The integral form of the contravariant Navier-Stokes equations is numerically integrated by a finite-volume shock-capturing scheme which uses Monotonic Upwind Scheme for Conservation Laws Total Variation Diminishing (MUSCL-TVD) reconstructions and an Harten Lax van Leer Riemann solver (HLL Riemann solver). The numerical model is used to verify whether the presence of a submerged coastal defence structure, in the coastal area with a curvilinear shoreline, is able to modify the wave induced circulation pattern and the hydrodynamic conditions from erosive to accretive.