Physical Model Study on the Soft Option of Coastal Protection Works by Vegetation Meadow—A Review

Abstract

As the frequency of occurrence of the coastal hazards increasing along with sea level rise the number of hard structures installed to mitigate the beach erosion, flooding needs to be increased or upgraded. Attention on strategically utilizing the ecosystem service provided by vegetation to tackle such hazard is increasing in the coastal engineering field as the negative impact on the environmental and ecological system is less in this approach compared to conventional approach. The resistance offered by the vegetation meadow on wave energy depends on the submergence ratio, density of the plant per area, the rigidity of vegetation, and also on hydrodynamic characteristics. Prediction of behavior and effect on the wave propagation is necessary to determine the degree of effectiveness of the vegetation field in coastal defense. The physical model study which involves laboratory testing of small-scale models is one of the tools to examine and verify the effectiveness of structure under the action of the wave. The present paper focuses on the review of physical model study, their key findings and highlighting the criteria based on which material is selected to model the various real plants. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.