A Laboratory Scale of the Physical Model for Inclined and Porous Breakwaters on the Coastline of Soc Trang Province (Mekong Delta)

Abstract

In the last few decades, the Mekong Delta coastlines have suffered serious erosion. Strong waves during the Northeast Monsoon are one of the main reasons for this. Many types of breakwaters with different structural components have been designed and built to mitigate coastline erosion. Vertical seawalls have been widely used, but they create reflection waves, which can generate water particle kinematics in front of the structure and increase the toe scour. In this study, an innovative block of inclined and porous breakwaters was studied by conducting laboratory-scale experiments. The experimental results show that inclined and porous breakwaters can considerably reduce wave energy due to transmission, reflection, and diffraction compared to inclined breakwaters. The porosity on the front and back sides of the structures has also been studied. Letting sediment-laden seawaters penetrate inside the sheltered zones, porous breakwaters promote accretion and facilitate the forestation of mangrove belts.