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Thisarticleisrecommendedbytheeditorialteam.
Glossary
Featuredcontent Numericalmodelshavereachedalevelofaccuracyanddetailoverthepast25yearsthatmostofthedominantprocessesinthecoastalenvironmentcanbequantified.
Newpages However,thenumericalmodelsaretoolsonlyforthecoastalengineersandplanners.ThisarticleonHowtoapplymodelswilldiscusstheoptimaluseofthemodellingtools
atvariousstagesofacoastaldevelopmentproject.Further,examplesaregivenofprojectswhereproperanalysisandmodellinghaveformedthebasisforsuccessfulcoastal
projects.
Tools
Contents
Whatlinkshere
1Introduction
Relatedchanges
2BaselineStudies
Specialpages
2.1Overviewofparameters
Printableversion
2.2Regionalmodelling
Permanentlink
2.3Localareamodelling
Pageinformation
2.4Littoraldriftmodelling
Browseproperties 3SchemeConception
3.1Requirementsofascheme
3.2Characteristicsofthesite
4OptimisationoftheSchemebyNumericalModelling
5Conclusions
6Seealso
7References

Introduction
Thedescriptioninthisarticlewillconcentrateondevelopmentofhighqualityandsafeartificialbeaches,astheseareoftenoneofthemostimportantassetsofcoastal
developmentschemes.Itisrecommendedthattheplanningofacoastaldevelopmentschemeincludesthefollowingcoastalengineeringdisciplines:

Baselinestudiesofmetoceanandcoastalconditionsleadingto:

1.Baselinedescriptionofwind,wavesandtidesinthearea
2.Coastalclassification
3.Descriptionoflittoraldriftconditions
4.Equilibriumorientationofshorelines
5.Descriptionofvariabilityinaboveconditions

Developmentofalternativeschemesshallbedoneinclosecollaborationbetweenthedeveloper,coastalengineers,
architects,plannersandauthoritiestakingintoconsiderationthespecificconstraintsandpossibilitiesatthesiteandthe
impactonadjacentbeachesorareas,andthegeneralrulesregulationsandmasterplansforthearea.Duringthisprocessit
isimportanttocombinethegoalsofthedeveloperwiththepossibilitiesprovidedatthespecificsiteandtorefrainfrom
tryingtodevelopfacilitieswhichwillnotfunctionatthesite.Developmentofconceptualschemeswithartificialbeachesand
lagoonsshallbedonesorespectingthenaturalconditionsintheareaandincludingenvironmentalscreening.Selectionof
preferredconceptualscheme(s)occursasthenumberofalternativeschemesisreducedthroughaprocess,whichweighsprosandconsforallaspectsofaproject.

Detaileddesignandenvironmentaloptimizationoftheschemeusingadvancednumericalmodels.

BaselineStudies

Overviewofparameters

Theparametersofimportancefordevelopmentofgoodqualitybeachesandlagoonsarethefollowing:

Astronomicaltide,whichisresponsiblefortheperiodicwaterlevelvariationsandtheassociatedtidalflushinginthearea
Thevaryingairpressureandwindsystems,whichareresponsibleforthegenerationofstormsurgesandwindwaves
Wavegenerationandwavepropagationfromdeepwatertoshallowwater
Littoraldriftandshorelinestability,whicharemainlydependentofwaveconditionsandtheseabedcharacteristics

Illustrationsoftheimportantwaveandlittoraltransportprocesses,whichcanbesimulatedbythenumericalmodels,arepresentedinFig.1.

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Fig.1.Illustrationofimportantwaveandlittoraltransportprocesses

Regionalmodelling

Sufficientlylongrecordingoftimeseriesoftidesandwavesisnormallynotavailableataprojectsiteasbasisforestablishmentof
designconditions,whereaswindrecordingsandweathermapsarenormallyavailablefromlocalmeteorologicalstationsand
internationalorganisations.Suchwindandairpressuredataareverysuitableasinputdataforspectralwindwavemodelsand2Dor
3Dhydrodynamicflowmodels.Thecombinationofadvancednumericalwaveandhydrodynamicmodelsandpowerfulcomputersthus
makesitpossibletorunlongtimeseries,i.e.decadesofyears,ofhydrodynamicandwindwavesimulationstherebyprovidingbasisfor
establishmentofabaselinedescriptionofthefollowingoffshoreconditions:

Winds
Waves
Currentsandflushingconditions
Tidesandstormsurges Fig.2.Instantaneouswaveheight
anddirectiondistributioncovering
Possibleshorterrecordingtimeseriesofwaves,tidesandcurrentsaresuitableforcalibrationofthenumericalmodels.Theestablished
timeseriesofregionalmarineparametersarethereaftersuitableforstatisticaldescriptionofnormalconditionsaswellasofdesign theentireGulf,FromPERGOS.
conditions.Furthermore,theestablishedregionalmodelscanprovideboundaryconditionsforlocalwave,hydrodynamicandsediment
transportmodelsasrequiredaswellasboundaryconditionsforlittoraldriftandshorelineevolutionmodels.DHI
(http://www.dhigroup.com/)hasincollaborationwithOceanweatherInc.(http://www.oceanweather.com/)establishedthePERGOS
(http://www.oceanweather.com/metocean/pergos/index.html)modelcoveringtheentireGulfaswellastheOmanGulfandpartoftheArabianSea.Themodelhasbeenrun
continuouslyfor20yearsandinadditionfor100storms.Theoutputsofthemodelare,amongothers,thefollowing:

1.Extremesofwindspeed,waveheight/period,waterlevelandcurrents
2.Timeseriesofwind,waves,waterlevelsandcurrentsareprovidedfor100stormeventsandthecontinuous20yearperiod19832002.

ExampleofoutputfromthemodelispresentedinFig.2.

Localareamodelling

Thestudyoftheconditionsinthelocalprojectareawillnormallyrequiretheestablishmentoflocalmodels.Thenewgenerationof
suchmodelsareFlexibleMeshModels,inwhichthelocalmodelresolutioncanbeadjustedasrequired.Thistechniqueprovidesthe
possibilityofmodellinglargeareasinonesinglemodelwithoutshiftingtoseverallayersoffinergridmodels.Anexampleofsucha
modelgridcoveringtheDubaicoastispresentedinFig.3.Anexampleofthewaveconditionsintheareausingtheabovemodelgrid
ispresentedinFig.4.

Littoraldriftmodelling

Modellingofthelittoraldriftconditions,i.e.thewavegeneratedtransportofsandinthesurfzone,isrequiredforstudyingthefollowing
conditionsintheprojectarea: Fig.3.ExampleofFlexibleMesh
modelgridfortheDubaiWaters
1.Understandingofthestabilityconditionsofthecoastintheprojectarea
2.Definingtheequilibriumorientationfornewshorelinesintheprojectarea,whichisrequiredfortheplanningofnewartificial
beaches
3.Establishingtheimpactofnewstructuresinadjacentareas
4.Establishingstatisticalcorrelationbetweenwaveconditionsandlittoraltransportconditions,whichisimportantforselecting
representativesituationsfor2Dmodelling.

SchemeConception

Requirementsofascheme Fig.4.Exampleofwaveheight
distributionovertheDubaiWaters
Theconceptforacoastaldevelopmentschemeinacertainareaisdrivenbythedemandforacertaintypeofdevelopment.The
developmentwilltypicallyconsistofdifferenttypesofbasicelements,suchasreclamationofnewland,establishmentofnewwater usingMIKE21SWFEMmodel.
bodiesbyexcavationoflagoonsandestablishmentofnewartificialbeaches.Thefollowingconcentratesonthedevelopmentof
artificialbeaches.Therequirementsofagoodqualityartificialbeacharenormallythefollowing:

1.Thebeachesshallbemoderatelyexposedtowavesasitistheconstantexposureofthewaveswhichprovidesthefreshandattractivebeach.Toomuchwave
exposuremakesthebeachesunsafeforbathing
2.Theyshallbeorientatedtowardsthedirectionoftheprevailingwavestobestable.Thelateralstabilityshallalsobesecuredbyterminalstructures
3.Artificialbeachesshallbeconstructedofgoodqualitybeachsand:medium,i.e.0.25mm<d50<0.5mm,wellsorted,attractivecolour,minimumcontentoffinesand
minimumcontentofcoarsefractionsandnocontentoforganicmatter
4.Coastalstructuresadjacenttobeachesshallbedesignedsothatnodangerouscurrentsaregenerated

Theserequirementsshallbecomparedtotheprevailingconditionsatthesiteandtheartificialbeachesshallbedevelopedaccordingly.

Characteristicsofthesite

Thecharacteristicsofthesitemayormaynotfittotherequirementsforestablishmentofgoodqualityandsafebeachesasdescribedabove.Inprincipletherearetwomain
typesofdeviationsrelativetotherequirements:

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1.Thesiteistooexposedtoprovidesafebathing
2.Thesiteistooshelteredtoprovideagoodqualitybeach

Inthefirstcasetheschememustprovidepartialprotectionofnewartificialbeachestofulfiltherequirementsforbathingsafety.Inthesecondcasethereasonforthetoo
shelteredconditionsshallbeclarified.Ifthereasonisthepresenceofashallowreeforsimilar,therequiredwaveexposurecanbeestablishedbycuttingawaythereeforby
movingthebeachtotheseawardsideofthereef.

OptimisationoftheSchemebyNumericalModelling
Theuseofnumericalmodellingfollowingtheschemeconception,wherethecoastalconditionsatthesitehavebeentakenintoconsiderationinrespectoflocation,protection
andorientationoflocalbeaches,aredemonstratedinthefollowingviasomeexamples.

4.1Example1.SanStefanoproject

TheSanStefanositeislocatedontheexposed
MediterraneanwaterfrontofAlexandria,Egypt.Thewave
conditionsatthesiteareroughandthereisnonatural
beachatthesite,whichmeansthatanartificialpartly
shelteredbeachshouldbedeveloped.Theconceptforthe
newbeachwasthereforeapocketbeachinsideanartificial
bayformedbysomemajorbreakwaterstructures.The
functionsofthestructureswerethefollowing:

Provisionofpartialshelterbyregulationofthe
openingbetweenthebreakwaters
Provisionofsupportforthepocketbeach
Generationofanicecurvedbeachshapebydif
Fig.5.ConceptfortheSanStafanoPrivateBeachatthe
fractionofthewavesaroundthebreakwaterheads
Alexandriabeachfront.
Adjustmentofthestructuressothatnodangerous
currentsaregenerated.

TheconceptforthebeachfulfillingtheseconditionsispresentedinFig.5.above.

Theconceptwastestedbyapplicationofthefollowingtypesofnumerical
models.Optimisationofthelayoutofthestructuresthroughfirstestimateof
thebayshapebydetailedmodellingofthediffractionpattern(Fig.6).

Finetuningoftheshapeofthebaywasmadebymodellingthesediment
transportpatternbythesedimentmodelMIKE21
(http://www.dhigroup.com/Software/Marine/MIKE21.aspx)ST,whichwas
drivenbyaparabolicmildslopewavemodel,MIKE21PMS,andadepth
integratedhydrodynamicmodel,MIKE21HD.SeeFig.7.foratypical
sedimenttransportpattern.

Fig.6.Wavemodellinginthebayby Themodellingresultsshowthatnosedimentsareescapingthebayandthat
theuseoftheBoussinesqwavemodel onlylocaltransportisseenalongthebeach,whichmeansthatonlylocal
MIKE21BW. adjustmentswilltakeplacedependentofthevaryingoffshorewave
conditions.

Finally,thewavegeneratedcurrentsinthebaywerechecked.Theconceptherewasthatnostrongcurrentsmustreach
thedeepwaterattheentrancetothebay,asthiscouldbedangerousforpoorswimmers.Theimportantparameterhere
istomakethebaysufficientlylargesothatcurrentsdonotreachtheentrancearea.SeetypicalcurrentpatterninFig.8.

Fig.7.Sedimenttransportpatterninthe Fig.8.Currentpatterninthebay.
bay

4.2Example2.AmagerBeachPark

AmagerbeachislocatedouttotheSoundinCopenhagen,Denmark.The
problematthissiteisthattheexistingbeachisofapoorquality(muddy
shoreface)duetolackofwaveexposure.Thesiteisonlymoderately
exposedandtheexistingbeachisfurtherprotectedduetoaveryshallow
shoreface,seeFig.9.

Anewbeachparkwasrecentlybuiltatthislocationusingtheprincipleof
makingthenewbeachesexposedbymovingthemouttodeepwater.
Therebytheshelterprovidedbytheshallowshorefaceisavoided.Themain
conceptforthenewbeachparkhasbeentomovethebeachesseaward
beyondtheshallowshorefacetherebyprovidingmostpossiblewaveexposure,
which,however,isstillmoderate.Thenewbeacheshavebeenconstructedon
anislandandanewlagoon(deepened)hasbeenexcavatedbetweenthe
islandandtheoldshoreline.Asthebeachparkislocatednearthegorge Fig.9.AmagerBeach,Copenhagen,
sectionoftheSoundbetweenDenmarkandSweden,thereisalwaysagood Denmark.Moderatelyexposedsitewith
gradientonthewatersurfaceintheareaofthebeachpark.Thissituationhas aprotectedbeachduetoashallow
beenutilisedtogenerateagoodflushinginthelagoonbymakingtwo shoreface.
openings,oneinthenorthernandoneinthesouthernend.Theflushingof
thelagoonhasbeeninvestigatedbynumericalmodellingutilisingthe
advectiondispersionmoduleoftheMIKE21(http://www.dhigroup.com/Software/Marine/MIKE21.aspx)software.The
waveclimateatthesiteischaracterisedbyhavingtwomaindirections,namelyNEandSE,whichisduetotheshelter
providedbytheislandlocatedjustoppositethesite.Thissituationhasbeenutilisedtocreatetwosectionsofbeaches
separatedbyaheadland,onefacingtowardsNEandonefacingtowardsSE.TheheadlandprovidesshelterattheNE
facingbeachforwavesfromSEandshelterattheSEfacingbeachforwavesfromNE,respectively(Fig.10).

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Theexactequilibriumshapesofthetwobeacheshavebeenestablishedby
extractingwaveclimatesfromthewavemodellingataseriesofpointsalongthe
beaches.Thereaftertheequilibriumorientationswereestablishedatthesepoints
bytheuseofthelittoraltransportmodelLITPACK
(http://www.dhigroup.com/Software/Marine/LITPACK.aspx).Finally,theshapesof
thebeacheswerefittedtotheseriesofequilibriumorientations.Anaerialphotoof
thenewbeachparkjustafterfinalisationofthecivilworksispresentedinFig.11.

Fig.10.Modellingofwave
patternsfromthetwomain
directionsNEandSE

Fig.11.AerialphotoofAmagerBeachPark,whichconsistsofthefollowingmainelements:Island
withterminalstructuresnorthandsouthandaseparatingheadlandbetweennorthernandsouthernbeachesandalagoon

Conclusions
Thisarticledescribestheoptimaluseofadvancedhydraulicmodellingtoolsforthedesignofcoastaldevelopmentschemes.However,itisalsodemonstratedthatthe
modellingexerciseswillonlybesuccessfuliftheschemeconceptshavebeendevelopedthroughunderstandingandutilisationofthesitespecifichydraulicandcoastal
mechanisms,whicharecharacteristicfortheprojectsite.Theoptimaluseofnumericalmodelscanthereforebrieflybecharacterisedasfollows:

Performbasichydraulicandcoastalstudiesutilizingexistingdataandregionalnumericalmodels
Developconceptsfordevelopmentschemesbyutilizingthebasicinformationoncoastalprocessesandtheconceptofworkwithnature
Utilizedetailednumericalmodelstooptimizethehydraulicandcoastalperformanceoftheschemesincludingoptimizationthroughminimizationofnegativeimpacts.

Seealso
Models(Theme6)

ModellingReview(allgenerictypes)VM,JS,HHtocoordinate

LongtermmodellingGENESISandNewextensions,developmentsto1linemodelsH.Hanson

DetailedprocessmodelsapplicationtolongertimeframeI.Broker

StabilityModels:LinearandnonlinearA.FalquesSerra

References

Brker,IandMangor,K,2006.TheOptimalUseofNumericalModellingToolsinConnectionwithCoastalDevelopments,withEmphasisonSandyBeaches.Paper.
Mangor,K.2004.ShorelineManagementGuidelines.PublishedbyDHIWater&Environment.
DHIWater&Environment.2004.SanStefanoMarinaandPrivateBeach,Alexandria,Egypt.PreparedforSanStefanoCompanyforRealEstateInvestment.
DHIWater&Environment.2003.AmagerBeachPark,HydraulicandCoastalInvestigations.PreparedforAmagerBeachParkLtd.

ThemainauthorofthisarticleisBrker,Ida(http://www.coastalwiki.org/imis/imis.php?
module=person&persid=11531)
Pleasenotethatothersmayalsohaveeditedthecontentsofthisarticle.

Citation:Brker,Ida(2008):Howtoapplymodels.Availablefrom
http://www.coastalwiki.org/wiki/How_to_apply_models[accessedon17032017]

ForotherarticlesbythisauthorseeCategory:ArticlesbyBrker,Ida
ForanoverviewofcontributionsbythisauthorseeSpecial:Contributions/Ida

ThemainauthorofthisarticleisMangor,Karsten(http://www.coastalwiki.org/imis/imis.php?
module=person&persid=13331)
Pleasenotethatothersmayalsohaveeditedthecontentsofthisarticle.

Citation:Mangor,Karsten(2008):Howtoapplymodels.Availablefrom
http://www.coastalwiki.org/wiki/How_to_apply_models[accessedon17032017]

ForotherarticlesbythisauthorseeCategory:ArticlesbyMangor,Karsten
ForanoverviewofcontributionsbythisauthorseeSpecial:Contributions/Karsten

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