Sediment transport simulation and design optimization of a novel marsh shoreline protection technology using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling

Abstract

Coastal Louisiana has the nation's most fragile and valuable wetlands, whose loss represents 80% of the total losses in the United States. The severely restricted mobility of conventional shoreline protection structures makes them impossible to be redeployed. The Wave Suppression and Sediment Collection (WSSC) system is a novel technology of high mobility and compatible with existing shoreline protection technologies. Previous laboratory studies on WSSC showed great potential for wave reduction and sediment collection. The current study aimed to optimize the design parameters of WSSC using a validated computational model. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed and validated using experimental data from the previous laboratory study. Then, a parametric analysis was conducted with a focus on the performance optimization of wave reduction and sediment collection with respect to pipe diameter and face slope. Simulation results showed that the wave reduction efficiency decreased with increasing pipe diameter and face slope. In contrast, the sediment transport efficiency was enhanced by increasing pipe diameter but was not affected significantly by varying face slopes.