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Design and Performance of Reef Breakwaters


Author(s): J.P. Ahrens and J. Cox
Source: Journal of Coastal Research, SPECIAL ISSUE NO. 7. Rational Design of Mound
Structures (SPRING 1990), pp. 61-75
Published by: Coastal Education & Research Foundation, Inc.
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SI

Journal of Coastal Research

61-75

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Spring 1990

Design and Performance of Reef Breakwaters


J.P. Ahrensa and J. Coxb
aCoastal Engineering Research bWarzyn Engineering
Center 1 Science Court
U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Madison, WI 53705
Experiment Station

P.O. Box 631


Vicksburg, MS 39180

abstract mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
AHRENS, J.P. and COX, J.., 1990. Design and performance of reef breakwaters. Journal of
Coastal Research, SI#7, 61-75. Fort Lauderdale (Florida). ISSN 0749-0208.
Reef breakwaters are potentially one of the most effective types of shore protection. In spite of
this potential, there is very little quantitative information on the design and performance char
acteristics of reefs. This paper discusses some of the practical considerations in choosing armor
stone size as well as size and quantities of bedding material. The expected performance of reefs
is presented in terms of wave transmission and reflection properties, energy dissipation char
acteristics, and shoreline response caused by the reef. Numerous references are cited which can
provide additional information.
In some situations, it is cost effective to use a reef in tandem with either another conventional
breakwater or revetment. This strategy uses a low crested reef to reduce the incident wave
heights on a conventional structure. Some examples of the tandem reef approach are cited.

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Reef breakwaters, low-crested rubble mounds, breakwater sta
bility, wave transmission, shoreline protection.

INTRODUCTION
Submerged reefs have been recognized

through the ages as natural protection from


waves along shorelines. Commonly in the trop
ics, coral fringing reefs form in moderately
shallow depths some distance offshore creating
a wave attenuation zone nearshore. Waves first
break due to depth limiting conditions and then

lose energy across a broad dissipation zone. On

sandy shorelines, a similar phenomena is

observed when sand bars trip incoming waves.

These same principles may be artificially

able environmentally, aesthetically, and tech


nically since maximum design conditions are
now limited.

Artificial reefs in nearshore areas have

numerous applications. For shore protection,


reefs placed parallel to shore, either as contin
uous or segmented units, limit the wave energy

which reaches the shore. The reef therefore


functions to adjust the local littoral transport
rate, modify local shoreline planforms, limit
erosion, provide protective recreational areas,
and offer specific protection from wave attack.
Reefs can also be used in conjunction with other

introduced by creating stone rubble reefs in the

coastal structures to create a shore or harbor


defense system. An excellent example of the

approach differs significantly from traditional

latter is the tandem breakwater concept, where


an outer submerged structure limits the size of

nearshore region. The philosophy for such an


shore protection thinking. Shore protection is

designed to resist, generally by brute force, the


full fury of the waves. The reef approach entails

using a little finesse to control rather than


resist wave activity. The result is a signifi
cantly different design method in shore protec

tion, and one which has generally proved to be


more cost effective, while being far more desir
90028 received June 1989; accepted in revision September 1989.

waves which can reach the inner main struc


ture. This throttling of waves permits the use
of smaller, more economical armor units on the

main structure.
As the trend in shoreline maintenance moves
away from hard shore attached protection sys
tems, which limit beach access, shore protection

design based on reefs used in conjunction with

either pocket beaches or other methods is

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62 Ahrens and Cox

expected to become more prevalent. Following


is a presentation on the current state of the art
in artificial reef design and performance.

ARMOR AND BEDDING STONE


CHARACTERISTICS

can are of a submerged reef to reduce wave


heights at another breakwater protecting a
small boat harbor at Hammond, Indiana, on

Lake Michigan. The type of breakwater system


at Hammond is sometimes referred to as the
tandem breakwater approach and represents a
function for reefs beyond shore defense. A sim

Armor Gradation

ilar system is planned to protect El Morro Cas


tle at the entrance to San Juan Bay, Puerto
Generally reef breakwaters have been Rico, using a reef in tandem with a riprap rev

designed using stone gradations wider than etment (MARKLE, 1981). AHRENS' (1987b)
ordinarily used for armor in conventional, mul

lab tests were of a general research nature and

tilayer breakwaters, as discussed in the the stone gradations were typical of those used

SHORE PROTECTION MANUAL (SPM,

in riprap stability studies.


1984). In this respect, reef design has followed The information shown in Table 1 is sum
the trend established by berm breakwaters by marized in Figure 1 using the median weight of
attempting to reduce costs by utilizing locally armor stone to normalize the other percentile
available stone (BAIRD and HALL, 1984). weight stone sizes, i.e.,

Table 1 gives the armor gradation used in a

number of laboratory studies of reef breakwa


ters and related structures. The lab studies usu

VV 50

ally use a stone gradation which reflects what where "x" indicates the percentile of armor
is anticipated will be used at some site on a pro stone less than the given weight. The dimen
totype reef.
sionless stone weight given by Eq. 1 is also tab
SEELIG'S (1980) laboratory tests were of a ulated, in parentheses, in Table 1.
segmented reef breakwater system which was From the extensive studies of breakwater and
planned to protect the shoreline at Imperial riprap stability conducted in the Netherlands,
Beach, California. GIVLER and SORENSEN have come two well-defined stone gradations
(1986) studied submerged reefs to function as (VAN DER MEER and PILARCZYK, 1987),
toe structures for perched beaches being consid which will be referred to as the Dutch wide and

ered as a shoreline defense for the New JerseyDutch narrow gradations. The Dutch wide gra
coast. Tests conducted by GRACE (1989) were dation is given by,
to determine the stability of reefs to protect a
Wx' = [exp(0.01157x - 0.5785)]3 (2)
long sand spit at Presque Isle, Pennsylvania, on
Lake Erie. Model tests designated Warzyn/Vul and the Dutch narrow gradation by,
Table 1. Armor gradations used in laboratory studies of reef breakwaters.

Givler

Seelig and Grace Grace

Ahrens Ahrens (1981) Vulcan/ Sorensen (1989) (1889)

Percent (1987) (1987) BW-16 Warzyn (1986) Plan A Plan C


Less Than Wx .gr Wx .gr. Wx .gr Wx.gr Wx .gr Wx .gr Wx .gr

by weight_OftV)_CNV)_WV)_Wx)_Wx)_Wx)_(WV)
7

14

1100

300

223

(175

2 (.412) (.197) (.224) (.187) (.200) (.626) (.543)


12

33

2500

700

256

204

15 (.706) (.465) (.510) (.437) (.467) (.719) (.634)


17

71

4900

1600

21

106

7600

6100

28

139

7700

8000

15

356

322

29

466

457

40

516

518

50 (1.000) (1.000) (1.000) (1.000) (1.000) (1,000) (1.000)


85 (1.235) (1.493) (1.551) (3.812) (1.933) (1.309) (1.419)

98 (1.647) (1.958) (1.571) (5.000) (2.667) (1.449) (1.609)

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 7, 1990

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Design and Performance of Reef Breakwaters

Wx' = [exp(0.003192x - 0.1597)]3 (3) is discussed by LUTTON, et al. (1981), LEIN


where "x" is entered as a percent to solve for the

HART and STRANSKY (1981), and ALLSOP et

al. (1985). Because of recent interest in

various values of W'x. The two Dutch gradadynamic rubble-mounds and revetments, there
tions are also shown in Figure 1, and can be has been a corresponding concern that earlier

seen to almost provide upper and lower boundscriteria for stone quality may not be sufficient
for the various lab stone gradations. The Dutchfor structures where the armor stone is
wide gradation has a size distribution similar
expected to be moved about, at least during
to the riprap armor used by AHRENS (1975) storms. Armor durability under dynamic con
which had a porosity of about 40 percent andditions is discussed by ALLSOP and LATHAM
the Dutch narrow gradation has a size distri (1987).
bution similar to that used in the reefs tested
There are no simple, generally applicable
by AHRENS (1987b), which had a porosity of
guidelines for the selection of armor stone even
about 45 percent. This indicates that the bound
for statically stable rubble-mounds. A good way
aries provided by the Dutch wide and narrow
to start the selection process is to identify the

gradations in Figure 1 are associated with

porosities of about 40 and 45 percent, respec sources of stone which have proved satisfactory
on earlier projects. This approach is not fool
tively.
proof, however, since stone quality can vary
greatly from a single quarry. Also the time of
Armor Durability
year the rock is blasted and the length of time
Conventional statically stable breakwater
the stone is stockpiled before placement can
and riprap armor stone quality and durability
influence the performance of the stone from a

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 7, 1990

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63

64 Ahrens and Cox

single quarry (LEINHART and STRANSKY,

1981). Generally, reefs are not dynamic struc


tures and most of the ones being built in the
United States are designed to suffer little stone
movement even for severe wave conditions.
However, it can be envisioned that some cost
effective designs will be based on the concept
that the reef will degrade considerably during
extreme storms and still provide a satisfactory

tion for median stone dimensions would be


d5o(A)/d5o(B) less than about 6.8. Since the bed

ding stone will be well submerged during

storms, the bedding stone sizes indicated in


Table 2 are all probably adequate. Geotextiles
were used under the bedding stone at the Pres
que Isle and Redington Shores sites but not at

Elk Neck.

REEF STABILITY

level of protection for the shoreline. In the lab

oratory, for tests where stone movement


occurred, the reef appeared to be statically sta
ble after several thousand waves and did not
experience additional stone movement for less
severe conditions (AHRENS, 1987b).

Bedding Layer Considerations


Usually reef breakwaters are built on a bed
ding/filter layer. The bedding layer will prevent

settlement of the structure due to the armor


sinking into the underlying sediment. To illus
trate the stone size, stone gradation, and thick
ness of the bedding layer for some representa
tive projects, Figure 2 shows cross sections of
four existing reef breakwaters projects and
Table 2 gives basic information on the reefs.
Figure 2a and 2b shows cross sections for reefs
with different wave exposure at Presque Isle,
Pennsylvania, (GRACE, 1989). Figure 2c shows
a cross section of the reef at Redington Shores

Stability Defined by the Reduction in

Crest Height

For reef breakwaters used for shoreline pro


tection, it is logical to define stability in terms

of the reduction in crest height due to wave


attack. This approach directly links stability to
the primary performance characteristic of wave

transmission which is very sensitive to the

height of the crest of the reef. A detailed dis

cussion of this concept is given in AHRENS


(1987b) along with a regression model which

calculates a stable crest height as a function of

the wave conditions and stone size. An

improved model was later developed and is dis

cussed in AHRENS (1987a, 1989). The

improved model can be used for both submerged

and non-submerged reefs, for a wide range of

wave conditions, and provides considerable

1984). Figure 2d shows a cross section of one of


the reefs at Elk Neck State Park, Maryland, on

insight into the interaction between waves and


a rubble structure. Because of the extensive
information published on this aspect of stabil
ity, no further discussion will be provided in
this paper.

ENGINEERS, 1988).
The ratio of the median armor stone size

Removed

d50(A) to the median bedding stone size d50(B)


provides a logical way to characterize the bed
ding size. Since bedding stone sizes are usually
not specified in detail, values shown in Table 2

essary to define the important variables that


quantify this phenomenon. Figure 3 shows a

are approximate. It is not entirely clear how the

typical reef profile as the structure was built in

size of the bedding stone is selected, but Dutch


guidance for revetment filter layers suggest
that d50(A)/d5o(B) be approximately 4.5 or less

severe wave attack. Background information on


the laboratory tests discussed in this section is

in Pinellas County, Florida, on the Gulf of Mex

ico (U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS,

Chesapeake Bay (U.S. ARMY CORPS OF

(VAN DER MEER and PILARCZYK, 1987).

AHRENS' (1975) large scale wave tank study of

riprap stability showed that d15(A)/d85(B)

should not be greater than 4.0 to insure that the

underlayer stone is not pulled out through the


armor layer by wave action. Considering the
stone gradations used by Ahrens, a safe rela

Stability Defined by the Number of Stones


To discuss reef stability in any detail it is nec

the wave tank and after it has adjusted to

found in AHRENS (1987b). The equivalent

number of stones displaced by wave action is


defined by D' as
D' = Ad/d250 (4)

where Ad is the area of damage, such as shown


in Figure 3, and d50 is

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 7, 1990

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65

Design and Performance of Reef Breakwaters

8.5'

EL 576.6 (+6 L.W.D.)

, 10.0'

- - 2 iJO.O'_ ,
JU^ARMOR STONE?| 1 P \ EL 56*e (+1 L.W.D.)

3.0' 1r^l 1^720 TONS - 5.0 TONS^ \ i ^ EL Ste.rTZFT w n .

^*^BEDDING LAYER -2 INCH TO 10 INCH STONEEL 563.6 (SL.wTd.) ,


TYPICAL SECTION

3.0'

a. PRESQUE ISLE (EAST)


. 11.0' ,

EL 578.6 (+8 L.W.D.)

\lOOji 2 2 , 10.0'10.0'.

r 1 ip^ARMOR STONED*
h-j ?L 5666 (
J | EL 564.6 (-4 L.W.D.)

StdNEjC*^
561.6
(-7 L.W.D.)
~P^?4JbEDDING LAYER - 1 INCH
TOEL15
INCH
t?4.0'
TYPICAL SECTION
SCALE
10 o 10 20 FT
I_I_I_I

b. PRESQUE ISLE (WEST)


3 STONES (12')
1.5

EL -4.5

h--" EL 1.5
W1

12'

EL -6.5

?rJ--5'-7-\S ^EXISTING BOTTOM^VZ-ST

EL -T^r -^^^^t EL
FILTER CLOTH

c. REDINQTON SHORES
ARMOR STONE
3 MLW

1.6

BEDDING STONE
0.0 MLW

d. ELK NECK
Figure 2. Cross sections of existing reef breakwaters; important characteristics given in Table 2.

d50 = (W50/wr)

where wr is the specific gravity of the stone.


Equivalent indicates that D' actually over esti
mates the number of stones displaced since Ad
includes void space which was about 45 percent
of the cross sectional area of the reef, i.e. vol
ume per unit length.

(5)

AHRENS (1987b) found that the single most


effective variable describing the relative sever
ity of wave attack was the spectral stability
number N* denned as
(TJ2 T U/3

N* W60\
= -?^Ff^-r
(6)
w,
wr / \w.

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 7, 1990

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66

Ahrens and Cox

Table 2. Reef breakwater characteristics for some existing projects.

Range

Site/Reference

Bedding
Stone
Size

Armor
Weight

Kg

d50(B),cm

Presque Isle East 1814-4536


Grace (1989)
3175-6804
Presque Isle West
Grace (1989)
3401-5670
Redington Shores

Usace(1984)
Elk Neck

284-510

Ratio
d50(A)/

d50(B)

Armor
Thickness

Over
Bedding

Bedding
Layer
Thickness
cm

Crest

Width
m

Apron
Width Side

m Slopes

5-25

7.0

3.0

91 2.6

4.9 1 ON 2

3-38

6.1

3.7

91 3.4

5.5 1 ON 2

39-48

2.7

2.4

91 3.7

4.4* 1 ON 1.5

23-27

2.1

1.1

5* 31 1.5

0.9 1 ON 1.5

Usace (1988)

*Seaside apron, landside apron 2.9 m wide, apron stone weight range 304-522 kg.

I i_i_I_I_I_I_l_I_i-1_i_I

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120


DISTANCE ALONG CHANNEL. CM

Figure 3. Typical reef profile, as built, and after adjustment to severe wave conditions.

where Hmo is the incident zero-moment


4, D' is plotted versuswave
the exposure parameter
and it can be
seen that this variable is quite
height, Lp is the linear wave length
calculated
effective indensity
consolidating damage
using Tp, the period of peak energy
of from many
tests into a at
singlethe
well denned
the spectrum, and ds, the water depth
toe trend. Sheppard
and Hearngravity
then fit a polynomial
of the reef, and ww is the specific
of to the data of
the numbers
type
water. Ahrens compared stability
pro
portional to both Hmo and (H^Lp)13 and found

D' = C0 + dm + C2m2 + C3m3 (8)

the latter parameterization provided better cor


relation to the damage and was an
effective
way coefficients are given
where
the dimensionless

to account for wave period effect,


a similar
by
approach to breakwater stability
was
developed
C0 = 19.4458
by GRAVESEN, et al. (1980).
d = -7.4546
In reviewing the results of AHRENS'
(1987b)
C2 = 0.760505

laboratory work, SHEPPARDC3and


HEARN
= -0.010478
(1989) found they could consolidate
Eq. 8 fits the damage
data very well, as shown in Figure
from all test series by using a variable
they
4, but should
onlycall
be used in the range 6 < m
the reef exposure parameter, m, <given
29. Sinceby
a polynomial is not a very conve

(7)
where h'c is the crest height of the reef before

exposure to wave action, (Figure 3). In Figure

nient form for a stability relation, the authors


fit a regression equation of the form

D' = C0(N*)ci (hc7d8)c2 (9)


to the data, where

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Design and Performance of Reef Breakwaters

C0 = 0.0578
Cx = 2.42
C2 = 3.70

The ratio of C2 to Cx in Eq. 9 is almost 3 to 2 as

8, but Eq. 9 is somewhat simpler and

Eq. 7.

approaches logical limiting values. Predicted


values of D' are shown in Figure 4 using Eq. 9.

Eq. 9 does not fit the data quite as well as Eq.

in Sheppard and Hearn's exposure parameter,

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 7, 1990

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67

68 Ahrens and Cox

Stability of Reef Heads


There is very little information available on

the stability of reef head sections. GRACE


(1989) conducted laboratory tests of head sta

bility for reefs designed to protect the western

part of Presque Isle, having a cross section as


shown in Figure 2b. These tests used a subjec
tive scale of damage that had the following
adjectives, given in order of increasing levels of

damage: slight, minor, moderate, significant,

major, and extensive. Usually on this scale,


slight and minor are considered acceptable
results and a design can be based on these dam

age levels. Only three tests were conducted

with irregular waves, one using the Plan A gra

dation and two using the Plan C gradation,


shown in Table 1. The resulting damage was
given as slight for all three tests which had
spectral stability numbers in the range, 3.5 <
NJ < 4.6. Both head and trunk sections of the
Presque Isle reefs have side slopes of 1 on 2
(vertical to horizontal). Grace's results indicate
that reef heads have a zero-damage spectral
stability numbers of at least 4.6; typical reef

trunks have zero-damage spectral stability

numbers of at least 6.0 (AHRENS, 1987b).

PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS
Estimating Transmission Coefficients
The most comprehensive, recent study of
wave transmission over and through rubble

mounds is by SEELIG (1980). Seelig's approach


to predicting transmission coefficients is to
make independent estimates of wave energy
transmitting through the voids in the rubble
and the energy transmitted by wave overtop
ping, and add the two components to obtain the

total transmitted wave energy. To estimate


wave transmission through a rubble mound,
Seelig programmed the method developed by
MADSEN and WHITE (1976). Seelig shows that
although the method of Madsen and White (M
and W) is strictly applicable only for monochro

also shows that the M and W method will make


good estimates of transmission coefficients for

reef type breakwaters which are not sub

merged. This latter finding is not too surprising

since the M and W method was developed to


handle the intrinsically more difficult problem
of multilayer rubble mounds.

SEELIG (1980) accounts for wave transmis

sion by overtopping using a relative freeboard


parameter, F/R, and corrects for the influence of
width using the relative width of the structure,
B/h, where F is the freeboard of the structure,

either positive or negative, R is the potential


runup, i.e., the runup which would occur on a
similar structure which is too high to be over
topped, and B is the width of a structure with
crest height, h. Seelig's transmission by over
topping method can be used for both rubble
mounds or caisson type breakwaters. Much of

the difficulty in applying Seelig's method

relates to making a good estimate of the poten


tial runup. It is through the use of the potential

runup that some of the complexity of the

method is disguised since this variable contains


information about the wave conditions, struc
ture geometry, and roughness and porosity.
There also is an apparent anomaly in using the
potential runup in the relative freeboard for
submerged structures since wave transmission
over submerged structures is a much different
process than transmission by overtopping. Still
Seelig shows numerous examples of submerged
structures where his method works rather well.

The great value of Seelig's study is in the large


amount of data collected and the large amount
of data collected by other researchers which
was included in the analysis. This foundation
provides a method to estimate wave transmis
sion coefficients for a wide range of structure
types and geometry and for a wide range of

wave conditions. One limitation of Seelig's


study is that there is no specific guidance for
submerged, permeable structures. Because of

the wide range of applicability of Seelig's

approach, it is utilized as the standard method


to estimate wave transmission on the computer

matic long waves, it will make reasonable esti


mates of transmission coefficients for other

aided design package for coastal engineering in

method will overestimate wave transmission

Laboratory tests of the submerged rubble


mound, tandem breakwater proposed for Ham

the Corps of Engineers, LEENKNECHT and

wave conditions. Generally, the M and W SZUWALSKI (1988).


for short waves and makes good estimates for
irregular wave conditions based on the exten
sive analysis of the method by Seelig. Seelig

mond, Indiana, showed variations in wave


transmission associated with the porosity of the

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 7, 1990

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Design and Performance of Reef Breakwaters 69

stone gradations used. Variations were roughly


in the range of Kt ? 0.85 ? 0.05. This finding
was surprising that porosity would have this
much influence on wave transmission for a sub

or nonsubmerged, Figure 5 (AHRENS, 1987b).


This surprising finding is not true, however, of

the average up-cross wave period, Tz. Changes


in the ratio, Tz (transmitted)/Tz (incident),

merged structure. ADAMS and SONU (1986)

change in a systematic manner as a function of

of laboratory results of wave transmission over

changes in the transmitted T2 reflect the degree


to which the reef disrupts waves in the incident

found they could make reasonable predictions

submerged rubble mounds using the empirical


curves developed by TANAKA (1976). Adams
and Sonu provide guidance from their lab work
on how to adjust Tanaka's results to irregular
wave conditions; Tanaka used monochromatic

waves. Tanaka's work is valuable because of

the wide range of free boards tested, both pos


itive and negative, and the wide range of crest
widths tested.
AHRENS (1987b) developed a method to esti

mate wave transmission based on about 200


laboratory tests of reef breakwaters. These
tests included both submerged and non-sub

relative freeboard, F/Hmo (Figure 5). These

train. Wave breaking induced by the reef tend


to shift wave energy into higher harmonics of
the incident wave frequencies; therefore, the
transmitted period is lower than the incident.
On somewhat higher reefs, the impact of over
topping waves on the lee side also causes a shift

in wave energy toward higher harmonics. For


reefs which are too high to have significant

overtopping, i.e. F/Hmo > 1.0, the structure acts


like a filter by attenuating the higher frequency
components of the spectrum more than the low

frequency components. SHEPPARD and

merged reefs and were conducted with irregular

HEARN (1989) give an extensive discussion of

reefs, i.e. F/Hmo < 1.0, including both sub


merged and non-submerged structures. The

(1980) provides considerable information on


transmitted wave characteristics for rubble
mound and caisson type breakwaters for a wide

waves. AHRENS' approach is based on the use


of two formulas. One formula is applied to low

other formula applies to high reefs where F/Hmo

> 1.0. This approach is easy to utilize on a per


sonal computer. However, the number of vari

transmitted wave characteristics for reef


breakwaters, based on Ahrens' data. SEELIG

range of relative freeboards.

ables (4) required to obtain a good fit to the data

Wave Reflection

caution outside the range of the test conditions.

porosity, rough texture, and low profile, gen

Ahrens also points out that the commonly used


transmission coefficient, which is the ratio of
the transmitted to incident wave height, may

advantage because it reduces the potential for

for reefs where F/Hmo < 1.0 suggest that the


equation for this condition should be used with

not be the best way to evaluate the effectiveness

of a reef. A transmission coefficient, which is

the ratio of the transmitted height to the height

which would be measured at the same location


in the absence of the reef, is to be preferred
since it eliminates the losses of energy due to
wave breaking which would have occurred even
if the structure were not present. It is this type
of transmission coefficient which is predicted by

AHRENS' equations which may cause them to


be somewhat higher than the traditional coef
ficients.

Reef breakwaters, because of their high


erally have low reflection coefficients. This is an
toe scour and reduces the difficulty of navigat

ing in the choppy wave conditions created by


highly reflective coastal structures. The two
most important variables that influence wave
reflection from a reef are the relative depth, d8/

Lp and the relative height, hc/d8. Figure 6 pro


vides a good idea about the range of influence
of these two variables based on laboratory tests
by AHRENS (1987b). In Figure 6 wave reflec
tion is indicated by rounding off the product of
Kr and 10 (ten) to the nearest integer and plot
ting it as a function of d8/Lp and hc/d8. The figure

shows that for high structures, i.e. hc/d8 =1.4

the reflection coefficient ranges from about 0.3

Characteristics of Transmitted Waves


The period of peak energy density of the wave

spectrum usually is conserved in the transmit


ted waves, regardless if the reef is submerged

for short period waves to 0.6 for long waves. For


submerged reefs where hc/d8 = 0.7, the range of
the reflection coefficient is from about 0.2 for
short waves to 0.3 for long waves. Other factors,
such as the amount of wave overtopping and the

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 7, 1990

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70

Ahrens and Cox

2.0
? 1.8
c

CD

T3 1.6
U

c < A

-3-2-10

Relative

Freeboard,

1.3

1.2
1.1

1.0
0.9

0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4

-f

-+

-+

-+

-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Relative Freeboard. F/r

Figure 5. Ratio of transmitted incident wave period char

of Ahrens (1987b).

slope of the reef, also


influences wave
measurements
of reflec
wave

and
waveis
tank
calibra
In AHRENS (1987b),
there
a model,
equation with extensive
ficultdiscussion,
to parameterize
to pr

the reflection coefficient


whichdifficult
accountsto
fo
even more

of the variables and sipation.


factors mentioned
ab
These prob

AHRENS and FULFOR

relations can be given


Energy Dissipation

with little or no overto

period
waves, d
There is not a lot ofshort
specific
information
a
about dissipating
70 to 80 percent
able on the wave energy
char

waves d8/Lp
0.05, w
istics of rubble structures,
even <
though
t
percent.
(2) advantage
Reefs wit
regarded as one of their
major
water
level
dissip
alternative structure
types.
Thewill
reason
fo
the
wave
energy
if
the
situation is that energy dissipation cann
and must
about 30
if
measured directly but
be percent
inferred

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Iss

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71

Design and Performance of Reef Breakwaters

4 ^4,

*-~-t

3gi

34

^4
%3 31

13?
3

-4?K

2
0.08

RELATIVE DEPTH, d?/Lp

Figure 6. Influence of relative depth and relative reef height on wave reflection from reefs. Integers are the product of the
tion coefficient and ten (10).

= 0.1. (3) For the most submerged reefs tested,


This means that for severe wave conditions, Eq.
where 0.63 < hc/ds < 0.73, wide reefs will dis
10 provides an easy way to estimate the amount
sipate about 45 percent of the wave energy of
and
wave energy dissipated by a reef.
about 20 percent if they are narrow.

For a narrow but useful range of conditions,


Shoreline Response

the percent energy dissipation can be calcu


The discussion of shoreline response will
lated directly. If At/HmoLp < 0.5 then
include conventional breakwaters since there

%D8 = 100 (At/HmoLp) (10)


are

so few sites protected by reefs at this time.

Most conventional breakwaters used for shore


where %D8 is the percent of the incident wave
energy dissipated by the reef (AHRENS and
line protection have cores which are well sub
FULFORD, 1988). This finding was found tomerged
be
so that wave transmission coefficients
would not be much lower than reefs. Consider
consistent with the laboratory data collected by
SEELIG (1980) and extended the range of stone
able background material on the use of
size considered from median sizes of about 2
to
detached
breakwaters for shore protection is
3 cm for AHRENS' (1987b) up to 12 cm for given
See
by DALLY and POPE (1986).

One of the best ways to characterize shoreline


lig's tests. Figure 7 shows %D8 versus At/HmoLp
for data from Ahrens' study with the trend
of
adjustment
to offshore segmented breakwaters
to use the beach response index of POPE and
Seelig's data shown by a regression curve; 47isof
(1986). This index is a measure of the
Seelig's tests fell within the range shown.DEAN
An
interesting result of the analysis of the above
tendency to form tombolos and is largely a func
data sets is the fact that %D8 is not a function
tion of the breakwater segment length, L8, and
the effective distance offshore, X. The index
of the relative crest height, hc/d8 or the relative

ranges
stone size, d50/Hmo, in the range, At/HmoLp < 0.5.

from 1.0 for tombolos permanently

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 7, 1990

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72

Ahrens and Cox

attached to the breakwater to 5.0 for beaches between breakwater segments. Data collected
with no sinuosity behind the breakwater, see by SEIJI et at. (1987), based on a survey of over
Table 3. Regression analysis was used to fit an 1500 detached breakwaters in Japan, gives the
equation to predict the beach response index, I8, following approximate relationships: (1) Lg/X <
based on the data of Pope and Dean; the result 0.8, no erosion opposite gap, (2) 0.8 < Lg/X <
ing equation is
1.3, possible erosion opposite gap, (3) 1.3 < Lg/

I8 = exp[1.72 - 0.41 (LJX)] (11)


Prediction of I8 could not be improved by adding

the variable, Lg/X, to the regression analysis,


where Lg is the gap length between segments.

X, certain erosion opposite gap. Analysis of


pocket beaches created by detached breakwa
ters on the Spanish Mediterranean coast sup

ports the no erosion criteria given in (1) above,

(BERENGUER and ENRIQUEZ, 1988). If the

Table 3 gives data from Pope and Dean and

indentation ratio of bays between headlands is


considered a special case of the erosion opposite
a breakwater gap condition, there would be no
erosion for Lg/X < 1.9, based on field and labo

oped by SUH and DALRYMPLE (1987). Suh

Such a large value of the relative gap length is

shows the predicted values of I8 using Eq. 11.


Another method to predict shoreline response
due to segmented offshore breakwaters, which
includes the influence of gap length, was devel

and Dalrymple found that the relative ampli

tude of the salient, X8/X, is strongly dependent

on the parameter, LgX/L82, where X8 is the


length of the salient from the original shore
line. The prediction method works very well for
field data and under predicts salient lengths for

laboratory studies.
For some locations, it is important to deter
mine if there will be erosion opposite the gap

ratory data presented by HSU et al. (1989).

clearly too great a limiting value for no erosion

for segmented breakwaters, indicating that


wave transmission over and through a break
water are important variables influencing ero
sion opposite the gap.

CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Reefs offer an attractive alternative to a con

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 7, 1990

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73

Design and Performance of Reef Breakwaters


Table 3. Summary of United States segmented breakwater projects, after Pope and Dean (1986).

Ave. Ave.

Segment Gap

No.

2
3
4

5
6

Project
Winthrop Beach
(Low Tide)
Winthrop Beach
(High Tide)
Lakeview Park

Length Length
Coast Ls(m) Lg(m)

Location

Effective Predicted

Distance Beach* Is, Eq 11

Offshore Response Based on

X(m) Index, Is No 3-10

Mass.

Atlantic

91

30

80

Mass.
Ohio

Atlantic
Lake Erie

625
62

0
49

205
85

3
4

1.6
4.1

Penn.

Lake Erie

38

75.5

20

2-3

2.6

(High Water)

Penn.

Lake Erie

38

75.5

30

3.3

(Central Beach)

Va.

Chesapeake

61

45

20

1.6

1
5
5

1.1
4.8
5.0

Presque Isle
(Low Water)

Presque Isle

Colonial Beach
Colonial Beach

Atlantic,
Atlantic,

7
8
9

(Castlewood Park)

Lakeshore Park
East Harbor

Ohio
Ohio

Va.

Chesapeake
Lake Erie
Lake Erie

77
38
46

33
60
105

20
100
170

10

Holly Beach

La.

Mexico

50

91

61

Gulf of

3.5

4.0

*Beach Response Index is coded as follows:


(1) Permanent Tombolos
(2) Periodic Tombolos
(3) Well Developed Salients
(4) Subdued Salients
(5) No Sinuosity

ventional multi-layer breakwater for single orrange of circumstances to protect a variety of


segmented offshore breakwater system. Potenshoreline types.

tial advantages of a reef over conventionalFULFORD (1985) indicates that reefs are effec

breakwaters fall into three categories:

tive in stabilizing at least four types of shore

(1) Reefs are simpler and can use armor stone line; Type 1?low bank fronted by a narrow
with a wide gradation so they are less expensive beach; Type 2?high bank fronted by a narrow
beach; Type 3?narrow beach with no bank,
to build.
(2) Reefs have high porosity and no core so they

are hydrodynamically more stable, and at the


same time, less vulnerable to damage.
(3) Because reefs are simple, their performance
can be reliably predicted from physical model

studies and it should be easier to develop


numerical models to simulate their perfor

mance than for multilayer breakwaters.

Reefs also have important advantages over


conventional methods of mitigating coastal ero
sion which include:
(1) Reefs allow access to the shoreline while

providing protection and encouraging the


development of a salient which gives additional
protection to the hinterland.
(2) Reefs are versatile and can be used in a wide

Type 4?wetland. Reefs are also used with

beach nourishment as a cost effective method of

shore protection (TERRY and HOWARD, 1986).

In addition to shore protection, reefs are

sometimes used in tandem with another break


water or revetment (MARKLE, 1981). The reef
is used to limit the height of waves which can
attack the other structure. Using a reef in this

manner may be cost effective for a wide range


of situations but more research is required to
define these situations.

Further research on the stability of reef


breakwaters is required since most of the struc

tures being built at present are outside the


range of the dimensionless reef size tested by
AHREN (1987b). There is also a need to conduct
further laboratory tests of reef head stability to

supplement the small test series of GRACE

Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 7, 1990

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74 Ahrens and Cox

(1989). It would also be useful to have a com


prehensive method to calculate not only wave
transmission coefficients, but other character
istics of the transmitted waves. This potential
method would be useful to incorporate into a

shoreline evolution model such as GENESIS


(HANSON et al.f 1989), which would facilitate

logical placement of the reefs.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank Choule Sonu,

President, Tekmarine, for providing informa


tion on reef breakwater research in Japan. The
authors also thank Professors Nobuhisa Kobay
ashi and Miguel Losada of the University of

Delaware for their careful reviews and for shar

ing their insight on the design of rubble


mounds. Tests described, unless otherwise

noted, were conducted under the Coastal Struc


tures Evaluation and Design program of the
United States Army Corps of Engineers by the
Coastal Engineering Research Center. Permis
sion was granted by the Chief of Engineers to
publish this information.

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breakwaters using quarried stones. Proceedings
19th Coastal Engineering Conference (Houston,
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BERENGUER, J.M., and ENRIQUEZ, J., 1988.

Design of pocket beaches, the Spanish case. Pro

ceedings 21st Coastal Engineering Conference (Mal

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waters for Shore Protection. U.S. Army Corps of
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stabilization. Proceedings of Coastal Zone 85 (Bal

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GIVLER, D.L. and SORENSEN, R.M., 1986. An Inves

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