RRL - CAPSTONE Grade 12 From EC

SEAWALLS ( PART ONE – THREE TYPES OF SEAWALLS ) – Julianne
TEMPORARY – RESEARCHING RESOURCES

Seawalls are hard engineered structures with a primary function to prevent further
erosion of the shoreline. They are built parallel to the shore and aim to hold or prevent
sliding of the soil, while providing protection from wave action (UNFCCC, 1999).
Coastal structures are built on the coastline or at a small distance from the coastline
and comprise a variety of structures such as seawalls, jetties, breakwaters, etc. They
are generally divided into “soft” and “hard” coastal structures, with soft structures being
erodible by the sea, while hard structures are generally not (substantially) erodible
(Kamphuis, 2020). Coastal structures serve many purposes, including reducing coastline
erosion, flooding, and wave impact. They can also protect boat traffic and stabilize
navigation channels, in addition to serving aesthetic and limited ecological purposes
(Jackson et al., 2012).
THE THREE TYPES OF SEAWALLS – ON PROCESS
Seawalls are subject to high magnitude forces due to wave action,

especially during storm surges due to wave breaking and overtopping
(Pullen et al., 2007). In addition, the waves reflected off the seawalls can
cause significant amounts of sediments to move away from the seawall into
the sea, which can result in undesirable scouring at the seawall toe (Hughes
and Fowler, 1991) as well as loss of marine resources (Sealey, 1996).
Vertical seawalls are particularly attractive in locations where there is small

footprint availability and/or harsh wave conditions and high surges. The
stability of a vertical seawall against horizontal forces and sliding is
provided by its weight and the friction with the underlying surface (Allsop
et al., 1996). Such seawalls are subjected to high wave reflection in front of
the structure with a reflection coefficient close to unity (De Chowdhury et
al., 2017), which leads to greater forces and scouring at the toe.
The curved design of these seawalls reduces wave overtopping and

redirects wave energy due to waves breaking back in a seaward direction
(Anand et al., 2010). The curved-face of the structure attenuates wave
energy resulting in lower stress magnitudes (Anand et al., 2011). Failure
analysis reveals that curved seawalls are more stable and perform better
during dynamic loading when compared to vertical walls (Eslami and
Eslami, 2017). While they show better performance, curved seawalls are
typically more complex to design and construct compared to vertical
seawalls. Stepped seawalls, can be considered a subset of curved seawalls
from load, material, and construction perspectives.
These structures, also known as rubble mounds, are simply mounds of
various materials including concrete blocks (Sorensen, 2005). Riprap
designs are relatively inexpensive when compared to vertical and curved
walls. Moreover, the loss or failure of some of the armor stone will not
result in total collapse and the system can continue to function (Griggs and
Fulton-Bennett, 1988). Repair or restoration of riprap is also relatively
straightforward. The porous geometry of riprap results in greater wave
energy dissipation and reduced wave reflection. Therefore, riprap is also
commonly utilized in front of vertical seawalls to prevent scouring. Special
types of riprap configurations consisting of interlocking concrete blocks can
also be employed to reduce wave run-up, overtopping, and scouring at the
base of existing seawalls in cases of high tidal flows (Jachowski, 1964).
The use of interlocking blocks allows for freedom of design and flexibility in
deployment; these riprap designs can comprise the seawall or be used as
the base of other types of seawalls.
TO BE INCLUDED ON ORIGINAL RESOURCES
Seawalls:
 Seawalls are hard-engineered structures designed primarily to prevent

further erosion of shorelines. They serve as protective barriers against
wave action and help stabilize the coastline.
 These structures are typically built parallel to the shore and aim to hold
or prevent sliding of the soil. They come in various types, including:
o Steel sheet-pile walls
o Large concrete barriers
o Rubble mound structures
o Brick or block walls
o Gabions (which are wire cages filled with rocks or other
materials) 1
SEAWALLS AND IT`S STRUCTURES
Seawall is a parallel structure constructed along the coastline to prevent any

loss or inundation of the landward side by flooding and wave actions.
Different types of seawalls are used depending on the site conditions, such
as gravity walls, rubble mound walls, stone revetment, stepped face, curved
face (concave), combination of stepped and curved face, and filled gravity.
Although seawalls are a form of structural defence to control shoreline
erosion, however, in many cases, they are reported to aggravate the
problem by causing either active or passive erosion of the beach. According
to Jayappa et al. (2003), seawalls damage beaches more rapidly than groins.
Several researchers have studied the effects of seawalls constructed along
the various coastal regions of India (Bhattacharya et al., 2003; Hegde, 2010;
Jayappa et al., 2003; Kumar and Ravinesh, 2011; Mani, 2001; Neelamani and
Sundaravadivelu, 2006), and in most of the literature, it is suggested that
seawalls have either underperformed or failed in the protecting the affected
coastline.
REFERENCES :
Understanding the effects of seawall construction using a combination of analytical
modelling and remote sensing techniques: Case study of Fansa, Gujarat, India - R. Balaji,
S Sathish Kumar, Ankita Misra, 2017 (sagepub.com)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925857422000349
RANDOM REFERENCES :
cuny_intertect_000003_07.pdf;sequence=1 (tamu.edu)
Shoreline change, seawalls, and coastal property values - ScienceDirect
Intertidal seawalls—new features of landscape in intertidal environments - ScienceDirect

PART TWO – SEA LEVELS - Ian
Seawalls run parallel to the beach and can be built of concrete, wood, steel, or
boulders. They are designed to halt inundations and/or shoreline erosion caused
primarily by wave action. If seawalls are maintained, they may temporarily hold back
the ocean from encroaching on shoreline development. In spite of their ability to hold
back the ocean, when waves hit a seawall, the waves are reflected back out to sea,
taking beach sand with them and eventually causing the beach to disappear together
with ecosystems that rely on it. This paper critics seawalls as an adaptation measure
for sea level rise and describes alternatives supported by current examples in
California.
REFERENCES :
The Utilization of Seawalls in Response to Sea Level Rise (researchgate.net)
PART THREE – COASTAL ENGINEERING - Niña
Seawalls are onshore structures with the principal function of preventing or alleviating
overtopping and flooding of the land and the structures behind due to storm surges and waves.
Seawalls are built parallel to the shoreline as a reinforcement of a part of the coastal profile.
Quite often, seawalls are used to protect promenades, roads, and houses placed seaward of the
crest edge of the natural beach profile. In these cases, a seawall structure protruding vertically or
close to vertically from the beach profile must be built. Seawalls range from vertical face
structures such as massive gravity concrete walls, tied walls using steel or concrete piling, and
stone-filled cribwork to sloping structures with typical surfaces being reinforced concrete slabs,
concrete armor units, or stone rubble (bulkheads, revetments, and Rip Rap are different types of
seawalls).
Coastal engineering works typically consist of the installation of structures and have been
conducted for hundreds of years for port development, coastal hazard protection, and
reclamation of land from the sea. The needs of each country or society are fundamentally linked
to the resident geologic controls, physical processes operating at a specific location, and the
respective marine threats that the location is exposed to. Coastal engineering approaches to
erosion or hazard mitigation have traditionally been "hard" through the installation of structures
or hard approaches. In this module, we will explore these hard approaches and their advantages
and disadvantages, explore erosion trends induced by these structures and how they disrupt
sediment transport along coastlines, and discover alternative soft approaches to mitigation
through case studies.
Approximately one billion of the 7.6 billion inhabitants on Earth resided in coastal marine areas as
of 2018. There are several factors that put a city or country’s per capita GDP at danger, including
its citizens, their possessions, and the infrastructure that supports them. These include weather-
related catastrophes (storm surges, flooding, wind, crop loss, unprotected anchorage, stability of
navigation channels, and occasionally, lethal tsunamis), coastal erosion, and high and spring
tides that result in lowland flooding. Sea level rise brought on by global warming is anticipated to
put certain coastal zones at serious risk both now and in the future. Human activities along the
coast can exacerbate the risk from the previously mentioned sources, such as flooding caused by
subsidence aided by over use of coastal aquifers for water supply. Dikes
REFERENCES :
Structures That Protect Coastal Populations, Assets, and GDPs: Sea Dikes, Breakwaters, Seawalls |
SpringerLink
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth107/node/527

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SEAWALLS ( PART ONE – THREE TYPES OF SEAWALLS ) – Julianne

TEMPORARY – RESEARCHING RESOURCES

THE THREE TYPES OF SEAWALLS – ON PROCESS

Seawalls are subject to high magnitude forces due to wave action,

Vertical seawalls are particularly attractive in locations where there is small

The curved design of these seawalls reduces wave overtopping and

TO BE INCLUDED ON ORIGINAL RESOURCES

 Seawalls are hard-engineered structures designed primarily to prevent

SEAWALLS AND IT`S STRUCTURES

Seawall is a parallel structure constructed along the coastline to prevent any

Shoreline change, seawalls, and coastal property values - ScienceDirect

Intertidal seawalls—new features of landscape in intertidal environments - ScienceDirect

The Utilization of Seawalls in Response to Sea Level Rise (researchgate.net)

PART THREE – COASTAL ENGINEERING - Niña

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