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Experimental investigation into wave interaction with a rubble-mound submerged breakwater (case study)

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Abstract

Experimental tests on the interaction between waves and a submerged rubble-mound breakwater (SBW) were performed in the wave flume at the Institute of Hydroengineering PAS in Gdańsk (Poland). A model of a submerged breakwater was prepared based on the constructions built in 2006 in the Polish zone of the Baltic coast, in Gdańsk Bay, in the region of Gdynia Orłowo (Orłowo Cliff). The tests were carried out for regular waves (varying parameters: height, period, length, and steepness) whose parameters were determined on the basis of the actual wind field occurring in Gdańsk Bay. The experiment was conducted for two water levels corresponding to the actual long-term mean sea level (msl) of 500 cm as well as a storm surge of 550 cm. The research has focused on the analysis of the amount of wave energy transmitted into the lee region and the determination of parameters that affect the transmission size. Types of wave-breaking were described based on the extensive video and photographic documentation prepared during the measurements. Based on the results obtained from the experiment and the previous research on the functioning of submerged breakwaters in the coastal zone, including both numerical modelling as well as field research and field observations, the efficiency of the structure was assessed.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the Institute of Hydroengineering PAS (IBW PAN), the Department of Wave Mechanics and Structural Dynamics, the Department of Coastal Engineering and Dynamics, and, in particular, Dr. hab. Eng., Associate Professor of IBW PAN Marek Szmytkiewicz and Assistant Professors: Dr. Eng. Jan Schönhofer and Dr. Eng. Piotr Szmytkiewicz, for their assistance and scientific support. The author thanks the reviewers for their helpful comments, which helped her to improve the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Marine Geology, Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, University of Gdańsk, Av. Marszałka Piłsudskiego 46, 81-378, Gdynia, Poland

    Agnieszka Kubowicz-Grajewska

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Correspondence to Agnieszka Kubowicz-Grajewska.

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Kubowicz-Grajewska, A. Experimental investigation into wave interaction with a rubble-mound submerged breakwater (case study). J Mar Sci Technol 22, 313–326 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00773-016-0412-z

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