| Abstract: | A computer simulation model, developed from a conceptual model of sediment transport patterns associated with nearshore bars, is presented. The model simulates wave shoaling, breaking and reformation along a profile normal to the shore from deep water to the beach and determines rates and directions of sediment transport under wave orbital currents and rip cell circulation. The model successfully generates a barred profile from an initial planar profile and under most conditions achieves a state of dynamic equilibrium with sediment circulating across the bars. Input values for wave height, wave period, offshore slope and tidal range were varied in turn in order to determine their individual effect on the shape of the equilibrium profile formed. Breaker type—spilling or plunging—is incorporated in the model and also appears to be a significant factor in determining the shape of the equilibrium profile. |
