Beach Profile Model with Size-Selective Sediment Transport. I: Laboratory Experiment and Sensitivity Study
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 2
Abstract
The response of physical models of beach profiles to random breaking waves was studied to investigate size-selective sediment transport and cross-shore profile evolution. Three types of beach profiles with different sediment mixtures were considered and subjected to waves until profiles reached equilibrium. Size-selective sediment transport was evident in the experiments, with the mean sediment size varying up to 20% along the beach profiles. Consistent coarsening and fining of the surface sediment in the experiments revealed size-selective sediment transport governed by cross-shore variations in energy dissipation, affecting important beach profile features such as sandbar structures and offshore and foreshore slopes. The theoretical basis of the transport phenomenon was described by analyzing the relationship between the transport processes and essential wave and hydrodynamic parameters obtained using a new set of numerical models. The results showed that beach profile changes and associated sediment grain sorting are most sensitive to instantaneous total water velocity and local energy flux under propagating waves.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Tuncay Değirmenci, Cenk Albayrak, and Dr. Murat Kankal, who tirelessly helped with programming and operating the wavemaker throughout the experiments. This work is dedicated to the memory of a top researcher, a good person, and a beloved friend, Associate Professor Dr. Murat İhsan Kömürcü of Karadeniz Technical University in Trabzon, Turkey.
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© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Jul 16, 2013
Accepted: Jan 23, 2014
Published online: Jul 1, 2014
Published in print: Mar 1, 2015
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