COASTAL AND OFFSHORE ENGINEERING

The laboratory undertakes studies for ports and harbours development, coastal protection against erosion, design of coastal structures, coastal processes, tidal inlets, intake and outfall systems of thermal/nuclear power plants using physical as well as mathematical modelling techniques.
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION 

Development of Ports and Harbours 

  • Optimisation of harbour layout including location, length and alignment of breakwaters, jetties, berths, approach channels, turning circles, etc.

  • Estimation of siltation in harbours and navigation channels

  • Hydraulic design of port structures

  • Harbour resonance and response of vessels 

  • Ship manoeuvering, motions and mooring forces

  • Dredging, disposal and sand bypassing

  • Stability of tidal inlets

Shoreline Changes, Coastal Erosion and Protection

  • Littoral drift and shoreline changes

  • Effect of harbour development on beach behaviour

  • Design of shore protection works such as seawalls, groynes, revetments, offshore bunds, beach nourishment

  • Innovative coastal protection methods

  • Training to the state government engineers involved in coastal protection works

Design of Maritime Structures

  •  Design of breakwaters and coastal protection structures

  •  Design of intake and outfall structures

  •  Storm wave hindcasting for determining extreme wave conditions

  •  Storm surge analysis and determination of safe grade elevation

Cooling Water Systems for Power Plants

  • Thermal dispersion for locating intake and outfall structures of thermal/nuclear power projects

  • Flow patterns around the Intake structures

  • Innovative techniques for enhanced heat dissipation and pre-cooling systems

Water Quality and Environmental Aspects 

  • Estimation of water quality parameters

  • Density currents due to interaction between salt/sediment laden and fresh water

  • Effect of reclamation on hydrodynamics and siltation

  • Disposal and dispersion of dredged material, industrial and municipal effluents and oil spills

Field Studies

  • Collection and analysis of field data for waves, water levels, currents, temperature, salinity, bathymetry, water quality, suspended and bed sediments

FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENTS

Laboratories

  • Random sea wave flumes: 120mx4mx2m, 90mx2mx1.5m

  • Regular wave flumes

  • Shallow basins with random wave generation

  • Wave models for ports and fishing harbours with regular wave generators

  • Tidal models for major/minor ports with automatic tide generators

Software Packages

  • Offshore to nearshore wave transformation

  • Wave penetration in harbours

  • Ship manoeuvring, ship motions and mooring

  • Tidal hydrodynamics and sedimentation in estuarine and coastal areas

  • Water quality

  • Littoral drift and shoreline evolution

  • Remote sensing and GIS

Field Equipments

  • Propeller Type Direct Reading, In-situ Self Recording and Electro-magnetic Current Meters, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler

  • Wave Rider Buoys, Pressure Type Wave Gauges

  • Automatic In-situ Tide Gauges

  • DGPS, Handheld GPS, Total Station, Distomats

  • Salinity-Temperature-Depth Unit

  • Grab Samplers, Horizontal Samplers

 

MAJOR STUDIES UNDERTAKEN

Ports and Harbours

  • Major Ports: Kandla, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Tuticorin, Chennai, Ennore, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, Haldia, Kolkata

  • Medium / Minor Ports / Fishing Harbours : Porbandar, Mul-Dwarka, Mangrol, Veraval, Jamnagar, Pipavav, Hazira, Revdanda, Varsoli, Ratnagiri, Karwar, Honnavar, Bhatkal, Beypore, Mahe, Munambam, Neendakara, Azhikkal, Pondicherry, Nizampatnam, Krishnapatnam, Kakinada, Port Blair, Rangat Bay, Mus, Campbell Bay, Hut Bay, Kalpeni, Androth, Kavaratti


                            

Storm Wave Hindcasting and Safe Grade Elevation

  • Porbandar, Dahej, Tarapur, Mumbai, Goa, Cochin, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, Kalpakkam

Design of Maritime Structures

  • Breakwaters at Porbandar, Veraval, Mul-Dwarka, Ratnagiri, Karwar, New Mangalore, Tuticorin, Chennai, Visakhpatnam, Paradip, Pondicherry, Kakinada

  • Reclamation bunds at Pipavav, Chennai

  • Guide bunds at Varsoli, Old Mangalore, Beypore, Munambam

  • Protection to submarine pipelines at Worli-Bandra, Uran, Kakinada

  • Rehabilitation of breakwaters at Veraval, Porbandar, Campbell Bay, Hut Bay

Shoreline Changes, Coastal Erosion and Protection

  • Shoreline evoluation at Gopalpur, Cochin, Kudankulam, Kalpakkam, Mangalore, Paradip

  • Seawalls at Mumbai, Paradip, Pondicherry, Maravanthe, Pavinkurve, Mahabalipuram, Chandipur, Tithal, Moti Danti, Umarsadi, Kosamba, Alibag, Theronda

  • Bank protection works at Ankaleshwar

  • Groynes at Cochin, Shankarpur

  • Offshore bunds at Udwada, Dahanu

  • Artificial beach nourishment at Raj Bhavan and INS Hamla in Mumbai

  • Sand bypassing at Visakhapatnam

Intake/Outfall Structures for Power Plants

  • Atomic Power Projects at Tarapur, Kudankulam, Kalpakkam

  • Thermal Power Projects at Dahanu, Ennore, North Madras

Environmental Aspects

  • Salinity intrusion at Chilika lake

  • Fresh water lake at Port Blair

  • Disposal of dredged material at Mumbai, Campbell Bay

  • Oil spill at Sikka

Foreign Assignments

  • Port development at Singapore

  • Thermal power projects at Tripoli (Libiya), Pasir Gudang (Malaysia), Port Klang (Malaysia)