Shoreline response to detached breakwaters and tidal current : comparison of mumerical and physical models

Shoreline response behind a detached breakwater and at a T-head groin observed in a large-scale physical model was validated with an updated GENESIS model. A new total load longshore sediment transport rate formula, introduced in this paper, was developed and incorporated in GENESIS to address engineering predictive requirements at coastal inlets. The relationship represents the contribution from obliquely incident breaking waves, their gradient alongshore, and external non-wave induced currents, such as the longshore components of a tidal current or wind-induced current. The principle of superposition of current components in the transport relationship is validated against transport rate measurements from physical model tests at the Large-Scale Sediment Transport Facility of the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center. (Less)