Evaluation of Harbour Tranquility Improvement in Pohang New Port by Detached Breakwater

Abstract

Since the construction of Pohang New Port, the problems of the low harbor tranquility caused by decreasing port operation rate has been continuously reported. In order to improve the harbor tranquility, a detached breakwater (DB) has been constructed outside the outer breakwater of Pohang New Port in 2018~2020. In this study, the effectiveness of the DB was proved by comparing the reduction rates of wave heights that were observed before and after the construction of the DB. First, the observed data were compared with the numerical model results available from a previous study, and the model data showed reasonable agreement with measured data at 3 out of 4 locations inside the port. The discrepancy in one of the locations was because the model could not accurately calculated the effect of wave interference in the inner corner of the port. The observation data showed excellent results that the number of waves that exceeded 0.3 m, the critical value to reach desired harbor tranquility, was significantly reduced after the construction of the DB. In addition, the reduction rate, the ratio of wave heights between outside and inside of the port, was decreased after the DB construction, which proved that properly designed coastal structures such as DB in this study could be effective in improving the port tranquility. The results of this study can be usefully applied for solving problems in similar cases.