Groynes in coastal engineering: a review

This technical note is based on a report from Phase 1 of a research project, which was undertaken to provide information on groyne systems and to identify problems, select appropriate study areas and evolve terms of reference for the main studies to be carried out in the future. Phase 1 determines whether relatively expensive field studies were necessary to ensure that maximum advantage was taken of existing data and to provide valuable feedback for future work. The recommendations are that for studying groyne systems with variable geometry under controlled environmental conditions, fixed bed hydraulic models would be more appropriate. In addition, the large amount of data available should be collated to form a database, which can be analysed with the objectives of formulating broad empirical relationships based on the success or otherwise of existing systems.