Hollow Cylinder Breakwater for Dissipation of Wave Energy to Protect the West Coast of Ca Mau Province in Vietnam

The coastal zone of the Mekong Delta is affected by the impacts of global climate change. Intensity and frequency of storm events and floods are expected to increase. Larger parts of the 245 km long shoreline of Ca Mau province are affected by severe erosion. It is thus necessary to adopt appropriate solutions to protect that shoreline. This study proposes a new type of breakwater structure - hollow cylinder breakwater, which is modified from the traditional semi-circular breakwater. The hollow cylinder breakwater is installed along the shoreline in order to dissipate the wave energy and protect coastal zone. A pilot project using 180 m hollow cylinder breakwater was constructed in Ca Mau province. Sliding and overturning safety factor of the breakwater are analyzed. Finite element method is used to analyze the settlement of the breakwater. It is found that the calculated settlement is in good agreement with monitoring data.