Sand suction mechanism in artificial beach composed of rubble mound breakwater and reclaimed sand area

An artificial beach has been constructed compensating for losing of the natural one caused by the development of coastal area. In this paper, the hydraulic model tests are carried out to investigate the suction phenomenon on the artificial beach constituted of rubble mound breakwater with gravel and the reclaimed sand area. In addition, the numerical model for waves, structures and seabed interaction as well as the numerical method based on the u–p approximation of the Biot equations is developed for investigation of suction mechanism. After verification of the numerical models by comparing numerical results with experimental data, the numerical models are further used to clarify the detailed suction mechanism of the reclaimed sand. The factors that affect the suction phenomenon are examined experimentally and their critical values are presented. Also, it can be pointed out that the vertical discharge velocity as well as the volumetric strain around the still water level of the boundary between the breakwater and the beach gets up to the critical value, the reclaimed sand starts to flow out to the offshore, and it finally leads to caves and cave-ins in the reclaimed zone.