INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON WETLANDS AND SUSTAINABILITY 2007

PERFORMANCE OF SUBMERGED BREAKWATERS FOR COASTAL

PROTECTION

Teh, H. M.. 1 , Sapari, N. 2 and Adnan I.3

teheemin@petronas.com.my

Abstract

The development and restoration of coastal wetlands has become a priority in many
regions that long suffer from losses of coastal wetlands due to development
pressures and the effect of sea water rise. Various coastal structures have been
used to provide protection from destructive waves and adequate shoreline
stabilization for the establishment and enhancement of the coastal wetland habitats.
The use of submerged breakwaters has become attractive in many shoreline
restoration projects due to the fact that the low-crested feature of the breakwater
preserves the natural beauty of the coastal environment. In the present study,
various modular submerged breakwater were developed for controlling shoreline
erosion in coastal wetlands. Small-scale model tests were conducted to assess the
wave transmission characteristics of submerged breakwaters that were comprised of
a plurality of modules. The objective of this study is to quantify the wave transmission
characteristics of these breakwaters for various structure widths, water depths, wave
conditions, and configurations. A series of laboratory tests were conducted in cross-
sections of the submerged breakwater models using unidirectional regular waves.
This paper will address the wave attenuation performance of the submerged
breakwaters tested with respect to the effects of breakwater width, wave condition
and configuration.

Keywords: Attenuation, Submerged Breakwater, Loss Of Energy, Transmission

1
Lecturer, Civil Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, 34100 Tronoh, Perak,
Malaysia
2
Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, 34100 Tronoh,
Perak, Malaysia
3
Undergraduate student, Civil Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, 34100
Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia