Ocean Engineering 48 (2012) 47–58

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Ocean Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/oceaneng

Study of environment friendly porous suspended breakwater for the

Egyptian Northwestern Coast
Bahaa Elsharnouby a, Akram Soliman b,c,n, Mohamed Elnaggar a, Mohamed Elshahat a
a
Ports and Marine Structures, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
b
Ports and Coastal Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport, Alexandria, Egypt
c
Port Training Institute, Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport, Alexandria, Egypt

a r t i c l e i n f o abstract

Article history: A proposed new type of breakwater used for the Egyptian Northwestern Coast is presented and
Received 9 April 2011 evaluated. The new model consists of double porous curtain walls fixed on two rows of vertical piles.
Accepted 12 March 2012 The curtain walls consist of two sets of horizontal steel strips with equal spacing. The piles are in two
Editor-in-Chief: A.I. Incecik
rows with spacing in the two directions. The spaces between the steel strips and the piles allow for
Available online 23 April 2012
good transmission of water and sediment with a favorable dissipation of wave energy. The North-
Keywords: western Coast of Egypt is an ideal location for the application of this new type of breakwater due to its
Curtain wall pile breakwaters sudden steep slope, wave breaking near the shore, strong rip currents and huge amount of sediment
Egyptian Northwestern Coast transport.
Numerical wave flume
A calibration has been implemented using a set of laboratory results. A parametric study has been
Transmission coefficient
conducted in order to introduce the best configuration of the new model. Real shore and sea data for
several locations were applied and theoretical analysis has shown that the suspended breakwater leads
to energy dissipation of incident wave energy and provides a quite safe surf zone for swimmers and
human activity with minimum changes to the shoreline.
& 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Rubble mound breakwaters (emerged type) were adapted in

The Northwestern Coast of Egypt stretches along 525 km on
the Mediterranean Sea, west of Alexandria city. This promising
region has attracted many touristic projects with massive invest-
ments. Most of these projects are resorts, hotels, and touristic
villages for recreation and swimming purposes. Unfortunately,
most of those areas along the Northwestern Coast are not suitable
for safe swimming due to breaking waves near the shore and
strong rip currents. Although sediment movement is quite large
and wave attack is considerably strong, the shoreline is consid-
ered stable over the period of years and does not suffer from
natural erosion or accretion.
Traditional shore protection structures along the Northwestern
Coast of Egypt have yielded quite adverse effects. One paralleled
breakwater at Krir resort has been demolished and removed due to
its complete failure in shore stabilization.
n
Corresponding author at: College of Engineering and Technology, Arab Acad-
emy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport, P.O. 1029, Abo Keer,
Alexandria, Egypt.
Tel.: þ2 100 170 8865; fax: þ2 03 482 9930.
E-mail addresses: bahaa.elsharnouby@yahoo.com (B. Elsharnouby),
akram.soliman@pti-aast.org (A. Soliman), naggarmo@gmail.com (M. Elnaggar),
me.ouda@gmail.com (M. Elshahat).
several locations for protection against wave action. These break-
waters block natural sediment and water movement causing
accretion accumulation just behind the breakwater and severe
erosion in neighboring beaches. In addition, they prevent the
circulation of water yielding a deterioration of water quality
within the protected area. In some places, they obstruct the
passage of fishes and bottom dwelling organisms. These negative
side effects may be due to inadequate design procedures, mis-
understanding of marine processes and coastal ecosystem beha-
vior, and neglecting the implementation of Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) (Frihy, 2001). On the other hand, there are some
cases around the world where the implementation of the rubble
mound emerged breakwaters provides good protection with less
adverse effects, i.e., the group of parallel breakwaters fronting the
eastern half of Grand Isle, Louisiana, USA. Examination of aerial
photography indicated that at Grand Isle little or no shoreline
realignment took place following breakwater construction with
no evidence of salient or tombolo formation (Edwards, 2006).
Submerged breakwaters may be a better alternative. For quite
small surf zone, distance between the submerged breakwater and
the shoreline may not be adequate for wave attenuation, in which
case submerged breakwaters may not perform property.
Floating breakwaters remain a good choice for those zones.
These floating breakwaters with several shapes and types have

0029-8018/$ - see front matter & 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2012.03.012
48 B. Elsharnouby et al. / Ocean Engineering 48 (2012) 47–58

List of Symbols p Atmospheric pressure [N/m2]

S Pile spacing in Y-direction [m]
A Wave amplitude [m] T Wave period [s]
B Body force vector [NXm2] V Vertical strip spacing [m]
H Wave height [m] W Single strip width [m]
d Water depth [m] l Wave length [m]
D Pile diameter [m] m Molecular (dynamic) viscosity [kg/m s.]
G Pile spacing in X-direction [m] r Mass density of the fluid [kg/m3]
h Total strips height [m] t Molecular viscosity stress tensor [N/m2]
Hi Incident wave height [m] o Wave frequency [rad/s]
Ht Transmitted wave height [m] n Velocity vector [m/s.]
k Wave number ( ¼2p/l) [1/m] r Gradient operator [Dimensionless]
Kt Transmission coefficient [Dimensionless]

been introduced by several researchers in the last few years.
There are two main categories of floating breakwaters according
to their installation system:
 Moored floating breakwaters (Anchored by chains or cables).
 Floating breakwaters supported on rows of pile.
regression analysis against the numerical model output. Section 4
presents the application of the proposed breakwater at two zones on
the Egyptian Northwestern Coast. Finally, conclusions are presented
in Section 5.
2. Double curtain wall on piles system model

Moored floating breakwaters have many configurations and
types, such as rectangular pontoon, single tube and multiple
tubes. Floating breakwaters restrained by piles are also known
as Curtain Wall Pile breakwater (CWP) or porous suspended wave
barriers.
Several researchers have conducted theoretical and experi-
mental studies on the hydraulic characteristics of CWP break-
waters. Table 1 shows some of these previous studies (Rageh and
Koraim, 2010).
The paper is organized as follows: Section 2 presents the new
layout of a CWP breakwater. The performance and wave interaction
with a double curtain wall strips breakwater supported on piles has
been studied numerically in Section 3; the performance is described
in terms of transmission coefficients. A Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) model, which has been set up using Flow-3D
numerical model, has been used. The model verification has been
based on previous experimental lab model studies. This section
concludes with a discussion of the results and a proposed design
curves for Double Curtain Wall on Piles System (DCWPS) based on a
The proposed Double Curtain wall on piles system (DCWPS) is
shown in Fig. 1.
The new model consists of:
 Two rows of vertical circular piles.
 Two sets of horizontal strips (front and rear) each set fixed on
one row of piles.
Both piles and strip curtains are working as a breakwater and
wave dissipation resulting from the whole system. The curtain
wall can be adjusted according to the performance.
The horizontal axe of the strips is located at the sea mean level;
the strips extend up and down the sea level for a distance close to one
half of its total height. The curtain is facing the most concentrating
area of wave energy, and doubling of the curtain tends to increase the
energy dissipation by anti-phase equal to a thickness of one strip.
Spaces between piles and strips allow sediments and water
to pass through the structure. The new system is expected to
have minimum effect on the sediment transport and shoreline

Table 1
Literature review of curtain wall pile breakwaters (Rageh and Koraim, 2010).

Reference Structure type Theoretical model Experiment facilities

Koftis et al. (2006)
Rageh et al. (2009)
Krishnakumar et al. (2008)
Suh et al. (2007)
Laju et al. (2007)
Huang (2007)
Suh et al. (2006)
Koraim (2005)
Sundar (2002)
Abdel-Mawla and Balah,
(2001)
Vertical semi-immersed slotted barrier Reynolds average Navier–Stokes equation. Flume with dim.
(RANS) 20  0.62  1.0 m.
Semi immersed pontoon supported on piles – Flume with dim.
12  0.3  0.45 m.
Partially submerged slotted wave screens Boundary integral equation Flume with dim.
72.5  2  2.7 m.
Pile-supported vertical single wall (circular piles) Eigen function expansion Flume with dim.
104  3.7  4.6 m.
Pile-supported vertical double walls (circular piles) Eigen function expansion Flume with dim.
72.5  2  2.7 m.
Single and double thin, vertical, slotted barriers Eigen function expansion Flume with dim.
12  0.3  0.5 m.
Pile-supported vertical single wall (square piles) Eigen function expansion Flume with dim.
104  3.7  4.6 m.
Single and double rows of vertical circular and square Eigen function expansion Flume with dim.
piles 15  0.3  0.5 m.
Quadrant front face pile supported breakwater – Flume with dim.
72.5  2  2.7 m.
Thin, vertical and sloped slotted double and triple – Flume with dim.
barriers 13  0.3  0.5 m.
 B. Elsharnouby et al. / Ocean Engineering 48 (2012) 47–58
Fig. 1. Sketch explains the components of the proposed model.
morphology. It is expected from the new system to provide a good
water circulation.
3. Numerical model
3.1. Theory overview
Flow-3D is a general purpose computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) package. It employs specially developed numerical techni-
ques to solve the equations of motion for fluids to obtain
transient, three-dimensional solutions to multi-scale, multi-phy-
sics flow problems. The equations of motion are solved by the
method of finite volume/finite differences in a Cartesian, stag-
gered grid. An array of physical and numerical options allows
users to apply Flow-3D to a wide variety of fluid flow and heat
transfer phenomena (Hirt and Nichols, 2007). The gravity option
was activated with gravitational acceleration, set to 9.81 [m/s2].
The viscosity and turbulence options were also activated with
Newtonian viscosity being applied to the flow along with the
selection of an appropriate turbulence model. Once the Flow-3D
model was completely prepared, some selected simulations were
performed with different activated turbulence models. The results
showed that there were only minimal differences in the data of
interest in this study between the applied turbulence models,
provided that the more advanced 2-equation (k–e or RNG) or
Large Eddy Simulation (LES) models were selected. Based upon
these results, the decision was taken to use the Renormalization
Group (RNG) turbulence model for all simulations. Furthermore
based on comments in the Flow-3D user’s manual (2007) that the
RNG turbulence model was elected as the most accurate and
robust model available in the software.
3.2. Governing equation
For a fluid continuum, governing equations are derived from
the conservation laws for mass, momentum and energy. The mass
conservation equation is:
@ and the grid getting finer near more geometric complexity as
r þ r:ðrvÞ ¼ S
@t
49
where r is the mass density of the fluid, n is the velocity vector
and r is the gradient operator. S on the right side of the equation
represents the sources and sinks.
In the absence of mass sources and for incompressible flows,
the mass conservation equation reduces the divergence of the
velocity as follows:
r:v ¼ 0 ð2Þ
The momentum transport equation for the average flow field is:
 
@v
r þ v:rv ¼ rpr:t þ B ð3Þ
@t
here, B is the body force vector, t is the viscous stress tensor and
p is the pressure. The momentum transport equation for the
fluid continuum reduced to the Navier–Stokes equations for
Newtonian fluids for which stress is linearly proportional to
strain. For an incompressible fluid with constant viscosity, the
Navier–Stokes equations can be written as follows:
 
@v 2
r þ v:rv ¼ rp þ mr v þ B ð4Þ
@t
where m is the molecular (dynamic) viscosity.
3.3. Meshing and geometry
The geometry used in the simulations was drawn in Auto CAD
and exported in a stereo lithographic (stl) format. The stl images
were then directly imported into Flow-3D where the appropriate
mesh could be generated. In a CFD numerical model, a mesh is a
subdivision of the flow domain into relatively small regions called
cells, in which numerical values such as velocity and pressure are
computed. Determining the appropriate mesh domain along with
a suitable mesh cell size is a critical part of any numerical model
simulation. Mesh and cell size can affect both the accuracy of the
results and the simulation time. Therefore, it is important to
minimize the amount of cells while including enough resolution
to capture the important features of the geometry as well as
sufficient flow details. For these reasons, multi-block mesh was
used in the simulations, where the coarse grids were used at the
areas in the computational domain with less geometric details,
ð1Þ
shown in Fig. 2.
50 B. Elsharnouby et al. / Ocean Engineering 48 (2012) 47–58
Fig. 2. Arrangement of multi-block mesh in the computational domain.
3.4. Boundary and initial conditions
Setting the appropriate boundary conditions has a major
impact on whether the numerical model results are reflecting or
not the actual situation being simulated. In our problem we
specified a linear wave boundary condition at the upstream
boundary, and an outflow boundary condition at the downstream
boundary. All other open boundaries were specified as symmetric.
The linear wave theory has been used in Flow-3D; the linear
wave was assumed to come from a flat bottom reservoir into the
computational domain. A linear wave is characterized by the
wave amplitude (A), wavelength (l), wave frequency (o) and
wave number (k¼2p/l).
3.5. Design characteristics for the new breakwater model
The performance of the proposed system has been investigated
through a parametric study to determine the design character-
istics. The performance is described in terms of the transmission
coefficient (Kt), as shown in Fig. 3,
Ht
Kt ¼
Hi
where: Ht ¼transmitted wave height and Hi ¼incident wave
height.
Fig. 4 shows the design characteristics that affect the break-
water efficiency in terms of the value of transmission coefficient
(Kt). These design characteristics are as follows:
– D ¼Pile diameter.
– W¼Strip width.
– G ¼Pile spacing in X-direction.
– h¼Total strip height.
– V¼Strip vertical spacing.
– S¼Pile spacing in Y-direction.
Parameters effects were tested through a set of numerical
simulations. Parameters ranges used in the model are listed in
Table 2.
3.6. Numerical model calibration
In order to calibrate the Flow-3D numerical model, for model-
ing the interaction between the DCWPS and the incident waves, a
range of experimental data was selected. These experiments were
conducted by Rageh et al. (2009). The used model consists of an
immersed pontoon with width (B) and draft (Dp) resting on two
rows of vertical piles with diameter (D) and spacing (G), (S)
in X and Y directions, respectively. A number of 12 numerical
Fig. 3. Definition of transmission coefficient (Kt).
simulations have been conducted using the numerical model. The
comparison between the numerical model results and the experi-
mental results is shown in Fig. 5. The figure shows that there is a
good concurrence between numerical and experimental results.
However, the differences between the numerical and laboratory
data could be due to the scale effects, the finite duration of both
numerical simulation time and laboratory test time, and the
ð5Þ uncertainty in laboratory work, as well as numerical rounding
errors in the computational model.
3.7. Numerical simulations
A number of numerical simulations have been performed to
study the influence of the design characteristic in the transmis-
sion coefficient as shown in . These curves were plotted using the
basis of Polynomials least square curve fitting method. This
method assumes that the best-fit curve of a given type is the
curve that has the minimal sum of the deviations squared (least
square error) for a given set of data.
Fig. 6 presents the relation between the transmission coeffi-
cient (Kt) and dimensionless pile spacing (S/D) for different values
of pile diameter (D). Seventy eight numerical simulations had
been performed. The values of strip width (W) ¼0.12 m, strip
vertical spacing (V)¼ 0.12 m and pile spacing in X-direction
(G)¼ 3.0 m. The transmission coefficient and dimensionless pile
spacing are directly proportional. Fig. 6 shows that values of (Kt)
are greater than 0.4 at (S/D) greater than 3.
Figs. 7 and 8 presented the relation between transmission
coefficient (Kt) and dimensionless strip spacing (V/W) for different
values of strip width (W). Seventy numerical simulations had
been conducted. The values of pile spacing in Y-direction (S)¼1.0
and 2.0 m, pile diameter (D) ¼0.2 and 0.40 m and pile spacing in
X-direction (G) ¼3.0 m. The transmission coefficient and dimen-
sionless strip spacing are directly proportional. It can be seen
from Fig. 7 that the values of the (Kt) are greater than 0.3 at (V/W)
 B. Elsharnouby et al. / Ocean Engineering 48 (2012) 47–58 51

Fig. 4. Governing design characteristics for DCWP breakwater.

Table 2
Numerical setup parameters for DCWP breakwater models.

Parameter Dimension Values Notes

Water depth (d) Meter 3.0 At the structure site

Wave periods (T) Second 6.0
Wave height (Hi) Meter 2.0 At depth¼ 6.0 m
Distance between the structure and shore line. Meter 80, 70
Pile diameter (D) Meter 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.35, 0.40, 0.50
Pile spacing in X-direction (G) Meter 3.0
Pile spacing in Y-direction (S) Meter 0.20, 0.40, 0.60, 0.80, 1.0, 1.20, 1.40, 1.60, 1.80, 2.0, 2.20, 2.50
Strip width (W) Meter 0.10, 0.12, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25
Strip vertical spacing (V) Meter 0,.05, 0.10, 0.12, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.35, 0.40, 0.45, 0.50
Total strips height (h) Meter 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.50, 5.0

Fig. 5. Comparison between the numerical results and experimental data for the transmission coefficient (Kt).

greater than 0.5 while Fig. 8 shows that the values of (Kt) are
greater than 0.4 at (V/W) greater than 0.5.
Figs. 9 and 10 presented the relation between transmission
coefficient (Kt) and dimensionless strip spacing (V/W) for different
values of total strip height (h). In these figures one hundred and
nineteen numerical simulations had been conducted. The values
of pile spacing in Y-direction (S)¼1.0 and 2.0 m, pile diameter
(D) ¼0.2 and 0.40 m and pile spacing in X-direction (G)¼3.0 m.
It can be seen from Figs. 9 and 10 that the values of (Kt) are
greater than 0.2 at (V/W) greater than 0.5.
52 B. Elsharnouby et al. / Ocean Engineering 48 (2012) 47–58

Fig. 6. The relation between the transmission coefficient (Kt) and dimensionless pile spacing (S/D) for different values of pile diameter (W¼ 0.12 m, V¼ 0.12 m and
G ¼3.0 m).

Fig. 7. The relation between the transmission coefficient (Kt) and dimensionless strip spacing (V/W) for different values of strip width (S¼ 1.0 m, D ¼0.20 m and G ¼ 3.0 m).

Fig. 8. The relation between transmission coefficient (Kt) and dimensionless strip spacing (V/W) for different values of strip width (S ¼2.0 m, D ¼ 0.40 m and G ¼3.0 m).
 B. Elsharnouby et al. / Ocean Engineering 48 (2012) 47–58 53

Fig. 9. The relation between the transmission coefficient (Kt) and dimensionless strip spacing (V/W) for different values of total strip height (S ¼1.0 m, D ¼ 0.20 m and
G ¼ 3.0 m).

Fig. 10. The relation between the transmission coefficient (Kt) and dimensionless strip spacing (V/W) for different values of total strip height (S¼2.0 m, D¼ 0.40 m and G¼3.0 m).

Figs. 6 and 10 can be used to determine preliminary design
characteristics of DCWP breakwater for specific transmission coeffi-
cient values (Kt). These characteristics are also dependent on eco-
nomical aspects, field bathymetry, available pile diameters and the
required efficiency. It is recommended to apply more detailed
parametric study and a physical modeling for complete design
scheme.
As an example, the following steps can be applied to deter-
mine the DCWP breakwater dimensions using the design curves
Figs. 6 and 9:
Assume the following data:
J Strip width (W) ¼0.12 m
J Vertical strip spacing (V)¼0.12 m
J Pile spacing in X-direction (G) ¼3.0 m
J Transmission coefficient (Kt) ¼0.53 m
J Pile diameter (D)¼0.2 m.
From Fig. 6: S/D ratio ¼5.0, then the pile spacing in Y-direction
(S) ¼1.0 m.
From Fig. 9: V/W ratio¼1.0, then the total strip height
(h)¼1.08 m.
4. Case study of Northwestern of Egypt
4.1. Overview
The Northwestern Coast of Egypt is a typical area to use the
new structure along its shore. In this area the bed slope is very
steep, waves are breaking near the shore line and rip currents are
quite dangerous. These conditions make swimming along most of
northern coast very risky.
Various emerged breakwaters have been implemented to solve
this problem, but they have produced adverse results. An example
of these structures is the group of emerged detached breakwaters
constructed at Palm Beach, 21 km west of Alexandria. The break-
waters blocked most of the sediments and water movement
yielding accumulated accretion at the protected area and severe
54 B. Elsharnouby et al. / Ocean Engineering 48 (2012) 47–58

erosion at neighboring areas as shown in Fig. 11, in addition to
deterioration of water quality behind the breakwater.
4.2. Study areas
To test suitability of using DCWPS as an environment friendly
partial shore protection system for the Northwestern Coast, two
zones have been selected: the first zone is Nice 1 resort located
65 km west of Alexandria and the second is Nice 5 resort located
10 km after Nice 1 resort. Topography and bathymetry surveys have
been conducted for these two areas. Data of waves, currents and
tides were collected. Fig. 12 shows the bathymetries of the two
locations. Fig. 13 shows cross shore sections in the two bathymetries
illustrating the sudden steep slope in the sea bed, with a small surf

Fig. 11. Salient formation behind detached breakwater at Palm Beach.

Fig. 12. Bathymetry map for Nice 1 resort (left) and Nice 5 resort (right).
 B. Elsharnouby et al. / Ocean Engineering 48 (2012) 47–58 55

Fig. 13. Cross shore sections at the Nice 1 and Nice 5 resorts, respectively.

zone particularly at Nice 5 resort. This sudden change leads to wave

breaking near the shoreline.
The wave data collected at the Northwestern Coast of Egypt has
given preliminary indications that the DCWPS may be a suitable
alternative for this region. Floating Breakwaters can effectively
attenuate moderate wave heights in a range of 2.0 m (Tsinker,
1995), while the wave height of more than 2 m occurs only 9.7% of
the time at Northwestern Coast area (Farouk, 2010). The practical
upper limit for the design wave period lies in the range of 4–6 s for
the floating breakwaters (Tsinker, 1995), while the mean wave
period at Northwestern Coast area is 4.7 s (Farouk, 2010).
The wave and current characteristics which have been used in
the numerical simulation are as follows (Farouk, 2010).
Wave height ¼2.0 m at water depth¼6.0 m.
Wave period¼6.0 s.
Current speed ¼0.30 m/s.

4.3. Proposed structure dimensions and layout Fig. 14. Proposed structure layout.

In this study, the transmission coefficient (Kt) has been

assumed to be between 0.40 and 0.70 in the lee of the DCWP
breakwater. The proposed structure dimensions and layout has
been determined using the design curves (Figs. 6–10).
The layout of the protection system is shown in Fig. 14, and the
proposed structure dimensions are:
– Pile diameter (D)¼0.40 m
– Pile spacing in X-direction (G) ¼3.0 m
– Pile spacing in Y-direction (S) ¼2.0 m
– Strip width (W) ¼0.2 m
– Strip vertical spacing (V) ¼0.10 m
– Total strips height (h)¼2.0 m.
4.4. Breakwater response
The numerical model has been used to study the effects of
DCWPS breakwater on wave heights at Nice 1 and Nice 5 resorts.
A comparison between water free surface before and after the
construction of the new proposed breakwater at Nice 5 resort is
presented in Fig. 15. It can be seen from the figure that the wave
heights have decreased due to the construction of the new
breakwater.
The same results can also be noticed from Figs. 16 and 17
which present the changes in water free surface profile due to the
presence of DCWPS at Nice 5 resort.
The same has been performed for Nice 1 resort; a comparison
between water free surface before and after the construction of
the new proposed breakwater at Nice1 resort is presented in
Fig. 18. It can be seen also from the figure that the wave heights
have decreased due to the construction of the new breakwater.
The same results can be noticed again from Figs. 19 and 20
which present the changes in water free surface profile due to the
presence of DCWPS at Nice 1 resort.
56 B. Elsharnouby et al. / Ocean Engineering 48 (2012) 47–58

Fig. 15. Snapshots of the free surface profile before and after the constructions of DCWPS at Nice 5 resort.

Fig. 16. Water free surface changes due to presence of DCWPS at Nice 5 (fitted curve).

Fig. 17. Water free surface changes due to presence of DCWPS at Nice 5 (a zoomed view at the lee side portion).

5. Conclusion and sediments move in large quantities. Any complete or random

Shore protection structures are usually associated with
adverse environmental side effects. Water quality deterioration,
instability of shoreline (accretion behind the structure and ero-
sion at neighboring areas), loss of balanced marine environment,
and sea view obstruction are the main environmental side effects
of shore protection structures.
Submerged breakwaters alleviate many of these adverse
results and provide better environmental atmosphere. In shore
areas where the sea bed has sudden steep slope associated with
quite small surf zones (like the Northwestern Coast of Egypt), the
waves break near the shore, strong rip currents are developed,
partially obstruction to these phenomena may lead to quite
adverse results.
To provide safe shelter for swimmers and recreational activity
along the Northwestern Coast of Egypt without adverse side
effects, a new type of suspended breakwater is presented.
The new model consists of double porous curtain walls fixed
on two rows of piles. The double system (porous striped walls and
rows of piles) absorbs wave energy by enforcing water to pass
through pile spacing and voids between horizontal strips. Mean-
while, sediments move almost freely through piles spacing. The
horizontal strips are located at the surface wave level. Waves
restore their motion after passing through the breakwater system,
 B. Elsharnouby et al. / Ocean Engineering 48 (2012) 47–58 57

Fig. 18. Snapshots of the free surface profile before and after the constructions of DCWPS at Nice 1 resort.

Fig. 19. Water free surface changes due to presence of DCWPS at Nice 1 (fitted curve).

Fig. 20. Water free surface changes due to presence of DCWPS at Nice 1 (a zoomed view at the lee side portion).

but with noticeable reduction in their heights and energy, causing Egypt. Design curves and charts are presented for the detailed
no rip current. design of the new system. The dimensions of the strips and
The model was theoretically analyzed using real wave data spacing between them can be adjusted any time after the
and bathymetry of two locations along the Northwestern Coast of construction in order to adapt the system efficiency according
58 B. Elsharnouby et al. / Ocean Engineering 48 (2012) 47–58
to any change of climate. The results show that the wave height
has decreased after the breakwater.
More validation to the proposed breakwater is still needed
using physical models and/or numerical wave flume before
starting its implementation in Egyptian Northwestern Coast.
The new model provides an environment friendly partial
shore protection without adverse side effect. The breakwater
can easily be adjusted after construction to meet any environ-
mental changing conditions.
The study of the new proposed breakwater effects on the shoreline
is under progress now. The results obtained will be presented in
future publications.
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