Longshore sediment transport

Abstract

The well-known CERC-formula for calculation of longshore sediment transport rate, has only characteristics of the incoming waves as input. This is not realistic, as the sediment transport must be expected to depend both on the sediment size and on the coastal profile. Many dimensional analysis and empirical studies were done, but with diverse results, having no solid theoretical basis. In this project, it is believed that the effect of grain size may be incorporated into CERC-formula by applying a recent concept of sediment incipient motion. For any sediment to be transported in the form of bed-load, the incoming wave energy must first overcome the critical shear stress of the bed. Therefore, a a??critical energya?? term is formulated. For verification, a laboratory experiment was carried out. Supplementary data are also acquired from previous studies. The revised form of CERC-formula is then verified by statistical methods.