Multi-stage suspended wave screen for coastal erosion control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shoreline protection methods are labor-intensive, costly, and often cause adverse environmental impacts, failing to effectively attenuate wave energy while allowing tidal exchange and sediment transport, especially in areas with weak organic soils or varying depths.
Innovation Solution
A multi-stage shoreline protection system comprising pile-supported, perforated screens suspended above the seabed, designed to attenuate wave energy by allowing water to flow through and beneath, with adjustable submergence levels and porosity to minimize scour and maximize wave dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional shoreline protection structures (block walls, rubble mounds) are installed to attenuate wave energy, then wave erosion is reduced, but the structures are labor-intensive to construct, costly, and difficult to install especially in shallow waters with weak organic soils
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible netting material with integrated rigid blocks instead of massive solid structures. The netting acts as a flexible carrier that distributes wave forces across multiple blocks, reducing the need for heavy anchoring in weak soils while maintaining protection effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The shoreline protection is divided into discrete modular blocks arranged in multiple rows. Each block is an independent unit that can be individually installed and positioned, allowing flexible adaptation to varying shoreline conditions and weak organic soils without requiring continuous heavy foundations.
2Loss of energy
If massive stone or rubble structures are built to dissipate wave energy, then wave attenuation is achieved, but the structures require heavy capital expenditure for transporting stone from remote quarries and are difficult to remove
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible netting material replaces the need for massive stone structures. The netting itself is lightweight and can be transported easily, while the integrated rigid blocks are smaller and more numerous, reducing transport costs compared to hauling large boulders from remote quarries.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses smaller, more numerous blocks that are cheaper and easier to transport than massive stones. The flexible netting material is also relatively inexpensive and can be easily replaced or removed if needed, reducing long-term capital expenditure.
3Stability of the object's composition
If shoreline protection structures are installed to prevent erosion, then shoreline stability is improved, but the structures may sink progressively in weak organic soils unless deeply embedded
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible netting distributes the weight and wave forces across multiple rigid blocks rather than concentrating them at a single foundation point. This distribution effect reduces the pressure on weak organic soils, preventing progressive sinking without requiring deep embedding.
Solution Approach 2:
The protection structure consists of multiple discrete blocks rather than a continuous massive foundation. Each block independently contacts the seabed, and the flexible netting ties them together, allowing the system to adapt to weak soils without requiring deep anchoring of a single heavy structure.
4Strength
If armored structures with heavy fortifying materials are used to protect shoreline, then erosion resistance is increased, but the structures are problematic to anchor and prevent full enjoyment of the shoreline region
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible netting material creates a permeable protection structure that allows water and light to pass through more easily than solid armored structures. This maintains shoreline accessibility for recreation while providing sufficient erosion resistance through the distributed block system.
Solution Approach 2:
The netting with integrated blocks creates a porous structure with gaps between blocks that allow tidal flow, sediment transport, and light penetration. This maintains natural shoreline processes and accessibility while providing erosion protection.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively reduces wave energy while maintaining natural tidal circulation and sediment transport, preventing shoreline erosion without sinking in weak soils, and can be easily constructed and disassembled, minimizing environmental disruption.
Implementation Method 1
designed to attenuate waves while allowing tidal exchange through and beneath the barriers
Implementation Method 2
The system effectively reduces wave energy while maintaining natural tidal circulation and sediment transport
Data Source
AI summary
A shoreline protection system comprising a first barrier assembly, which comprises a first pile extending into a bottom of a body of water, a second pile extending into the bottom of the body of water, wherein the first pile and the second pile are spaced apart and essentially parallel relative to each other, and a first screen having an upper edge, a lower edge, and a plurality of apertures extending therethrough, wherein the first screen extends between the first pile and the second pile, wherein the lower edge of the first screen is spaced from the bottom of the body of water.