This paper proposes an experimental study of the hydro- and morpho-dynamics induced by a slender vertical pile fitted into a sandy seabed and forced by sea waves in finite waters. The scour depth at the pile and the seabed morphology around it were measured and analyzed for both regular and random wave forcing. Scour depths due to regular waves were compared to those predicted in a previous study, revealing good agreement. The maximum scour depth occurred at the lateral side of the pile for waves characterized by a Keulegan-Carpenter (KC) number smaller than 7–8 and behind the pile for waves with KC > 7–8. Such a result revealed an asymmetric effect on the scour depth because of the weaker reversal flow. This behavior was more evident for nonlinear waves being crests larger than troughs and, as a consequence, vortices, responsible for the scour processes, became even more energetic around crest stages. To better understand the dynamics in front of, around, and behind the cylinder, pressure measurements were obtained to evaluate the generation and evolution of vortices. The pressure data showed that the adverse pressure gradient around the pile was higher than on the upstream of the pile. The analyses of the pressure data seemed to confirm that, if the forcing was only due to waves, the effect of the lee-wake vortices on the scour depth around the cylinder was stronger than that due to the horseshoe vortices. Finally, the practical stochastic method proposed by previous authors to compute the maximum scour depth around a vertical pile exposed to random waves was verified. The best adaptation between measured and predicted scour depths was obtained by taking into account approximately half of the highest waves (instead of one-tenth) over the threshold; such a condition is still cautionary for a practical point of view. A simplification of the previously discussed methodology was proposed in which the characteristic wave that generates the scour depth is defined.

The characteristics of vorticity induced just prior and at the splash-down of a plunging breaker on a 1:10 planar slope have been studied using wave flume experiments and numerical simulations. Laboratory experiments involved detailed measurements in the outer surf zone of both fluid velocities below trough level, achieved by a fibre-optic laser-Doppler anemometer, and water surface elevations, obtained by an ultrasound probe. A Weakly-Compressible Smoothed Particle (WCSPH) model, coupled with a two-equation model for turbulent stresses, has been employed for the numerical simulations. A thorough calibration of the SPH’s numerical parameters has been first performed, through comparison between numerical and experimental wave elevation and velocity data. Then, considering that time-averaged laboratory data shows a significant vorticity beneath the free surface in the wave pre-breaking region, the vorticity generation mechanism has been thoroughly analyzed by means of the numerical model. In the attempt of explaining the generation of vorticity as induced by flow separation, we also inspected the role of the streamwise flow deceleration and surface-parallel vorticity flux. In analogy with the case of spilling breakers a cause-effect relation has been observed between streamwise flow deceleration and vorticity generation. Numerical findings are positively confirmed by the experimental results.

The present study provides an extensive analysis on the hydrodynamics induced by a vertical slender pile under wave action. The authors carried out the study both experimentally and numerically, thus enabling a deep understanding of the flow physics. The experiments took place at a wave flume of the Università Politecnica delle Marche. Two different experimental campaigns were performed: In the former one, a mobile bed model was realized with the aims to study both the scour process and the hydrodynamics around the cylinder; in the latter one, the seabed was rigid in order to make undisturbed optical measurements, providing a deeper analysis of the hydrodynamics. The numerical investigation was made by performing a direct numerical simulation. A second order numerical discretization, both in time and in space, was used to solve the Navier–Stokes equations while a volume of fluid (VOF) approach was adopted for tracking the free surface. The comparison between experimental and numerical results is provided in terms of velocity, pressure distributions around the cylinder, and total force on it. The analysis of the pressure gradient was used to evaluate the generation and evolution of vortices around the cylinder. Finally, the relation between scour and bed shear stresses due to the structure of the vortex pattern around the pile was assessed. It is worth noting that the physical understanding of this last analysis was enabled by the combined use of experimental data on scour and numerical data on the flow pattern.

A comparative analysis is performed on the wave energy dissipation efficiency on various coastal protection devices. In-house experimental data on the performance of two innovative coastal defence methods and of traditional submerged breakwaters have been used. The analysis provides a quantitative comparison of the efficiency of wave dissipators based on either wave-breaking turbulence, near-bed turbulence, or inside-seabed turbulence decay. The comparison is made on the basis of wave height decay patterns described as a function of suitable dimensionless parameters. The dimensionless volume of maximum turbulence decay is found to be a useful parameter for the analysis. Efficiencies in reducing the intensity of the incident waves are measured by the wave transmission coefficient, which is found to range between 0.4 and 1.0. Submerged breakwaters were found to be the most efficient wave dissipators, especially for large waves, while comparable efficiencies are provided by the three mechanisms under analysis if the flow is forced by moderate waves.

The working features of innovative coastal defense structures that can dissipate the energy of incoming waves by the action of large-scale bottom unevennesses (rigid blades covering the lower half of the water depth) were investigated by means of a laboratory experimental campaign. The goal of the study was to characterize the ability of the structures to efficiently reduce the wave height with a minimal change in the mean water superelevations. Similar wave height reductions were achieved for both vertical and inclined blades; their efficiency was slightly superior to that of traditional submerged rubble-mound breakwaters of the same cross-shore extension. For the incident waves examined, very low mean water elevations were observed inshore of the structures, with the inclined blades producing the smallest values. These results suggest that the structures analyzed here could represent an alternative to submerged rubble-mound breakwaters from a hydrodynamic point of view to protect coastlines prone to ero...

The climate change process is leading to an increase in the sea level and the storm intensity. The associated shoreline recession can damage coastal facilities and also beaches protected by submerged/emerged breakwaters whose defense action can become ineffective. The application of cross-shore numerical models does not allow the performance of long-term analyses. In this paper, a semi-analytical model for the evaluation of shoreline recession due to waves and sea-level rise for free and protected beaches is proposed. The model is an extension of the Dean’s approach in which some limitations on the beach profile are overcome and the effects of breakwaters on the wave height (wave transmission) and on the water level (piling-up) are considered. The model takes into account a wide range of parameters for wave, sea level, beach profile, and breakwater characteristics. Among the breakwater parameters, the freeboard and the berm width are found to mainly affect the shoreline recession. For submerged breakwaters, an optimal value of the freeboard can be computed depending on the sea level and the offshore wave characteristics. The results of the model are then used to find prediction relations of the shoreline recession, with r² > 0.99, for both free and protected beaches, depending on the main hydrodynamic/geometrical characteristics.