Physical impact on the reclamation area resulting from offshore dredging at the Changhwa coast, Taiwan

The physical impact of offshore dredging on the reclamation area at the Changhwa coast, Taiwan, is investigated using a three-dimensional movable-bed model test. A distorted modeling law consisting of maintaining similarity of the equilibrium beach profile between the model and prototype is proposed. The geometric distortion was verified through a series of preliminary experiments conducted in a wave flume. Experimental results show that the distorted modeling is able to reproduce the beach-face slope in nature. An appropriate long-term morphological time-scale was determined based on a comparison of model longshore littoral transport rates and equivalent prototype values. Seabed topographical changes before and after offshore dredging are evaluated in model tests. A suitable countermeasure to prevent beach erosion from wave attack along the reclamation area is suggested from the experimental results.