Wave and Vegetation Interaction

Oral

1438 - Energy Flux Damping Due To Coral Reefs Using Modular Organic-Shaped 3D Printed Elemets

Presenting Author(s)

• EM

  Edgar Mendoza, PhD

  Researcher
  Engineering Institute, National Autonomous University of Mexico

Additional Author #1(s)

• AR

  Ana Rios

  Engineering Institute, National Autonomous University of Mexico

Additional Author #2(s)

• IM

  Ismael Mariño-Tapia

  CINVESTAV, Mérida

Additional Author #3(s)

• RS

  Rodolfo Silva

  Engineering Institute, National Autonomous University of Mexico

Several projects have been implemented around the world which aim to mimic the services coral reefs bring to beaches. These generally use artificial structures, composed of geometric elements. The main goal of this work is to test scale model replicas of a natural coral reef and compare their performance as wave energy attenuator. The coral individuals were designed with a software to freely modify the shape and get a realistic pattern. The reef barrier was placed over a sandy beach constructed within the wave flume at UNAM, Mexico and good results in terms of coastal protection were found.