Stability Factors in Groin Engineering

Abstract

The stability of a groin in a littoral system is dependent upon the engineering properties of the embedment soil and the fluid dimension. If the sub-bed soil is an ideal cohesionless deposit, the groin rigid and impermeable, and the fluid flow steady, then the stability factors of the groin include the angle of friction and bulk weight of the deposit, the depth of embedment of the groin, and the incident angle and velocity of the flow. The higher the incident angle of the flow, the greater is the stability of the groin. For a stability condition, an increase in the angle of flow leads to a decrease in embedment depth and, consequently, to a decrease in construction cost.