Performance characteristics of a conical pile head breakwater: An experimental study

Breakwaters are constructed for dissipating the wave energy and safeguarding the coastline from destructive wave forces. Conventional pile breakwater built using prismatic circular piles has been proven to provide partial protection efficiently. In the present study, the conventional pile breakwater is modified by widening the pile's cross-sectional area at the surface level in a conical shape. The concept of introducing the conical shape is to attenuate the concentrated wave energy, mainly focusing at the surface. The influence of the structural parameters such as diameter, height and clear spacing of the conical pile head is investigated experimentally for various monochromatic wave climatic conditions. The investigation is also focused on determining the influence of the second row on performance characteristics. The analysis shows that the least transmission coefficient (Kt) of 0.662 for the configuration of D/Hmax = 0.4, Y/Hmax = 1.5 and b/D = 0.1 for a single row of piles. Further, the second row of piles' inclusion resulted in improved attenuation characteristics of conical pile head breakwater (CPHB) with the least Kt of 0.582 at an optimal B/D of 0.4. The performance of the CPHB is compared with the theoretical solutions of conventional pile breakwater. The results indicate that the introduction of pile head on conventional pile breakwater is beneficial in improving wave attenuation. A set of empirical equations is developed based on the experimental values for quick prediction of Kt and Kr. The estimated values of Kt and Kr are in line with the experimental data with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.91 and 0.90, respectively. The overall performance of the CPHB is found to be promising as a potential coastal protection structure.

Automated summary

This study modified conventional pile breakwater by widening the pile's cross-sectional area at the surface level in a conical shape to improve wave energy absorption. Experimental results demonstrated that the introduction of pile head on conventional pile breakwater is beneficial in improving wave attenuation and the overall performance of the CPHB as a coastal protection structure is promising. Empirical equations were developed for quick prediction of transmission and reflection coefficients with high accuracy.