Nowadays, conceptual breakwater layout design mostly relies on experience and expert judgement, making it complicated to demonstrate that an economic optimum has been reached. This stresses the need to develop a tool that is able to establish the economically most attractive breakwater layout for a certain set of requirements and site-specific data. This study provides a proof of concept for a generative breakwater layout design tool, applicable to port projects all around the world. This is accomplished by investigating the most suitable optimisation method, by setting up a universally applicable methodology for the determination of the economic optimum and by establishing a robust and flexible model set-up. By validating it against a real case, the parametric model consistently comes up with breakwater layouts having cost estimates that are located within the desired accuracy range for the conceptual design phase. In addition, the parametric model is flexible, as it is able to efficiently deal with changes in design requirements and future port developments, therewith living up to modern design standards. In this way, client expectations are more likely to be met, leading to a spiral of increasing trust between the involved parties in an early design stage. ... Read more

The focus of this research is to provide solutions to the city of Campeche to decrease the
inundation risks generated by a hurricane with an occurrence of once in
fifty years. Campeche
is a city located at the Gulf of Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula. The rapid growth of the
city is one of the reasons it is having troubles with the water and flood management of several
areas throughout the city. Although the municipality has already executed some improvements
to the drainage system during the last years, it is still lacking to cope with heavy rainfall and
storm surges due to hurricanes at several areas in the city.
In order to gain a better understanding of the location and the way it works in Campeche a
location, stakeholder and political analysis have been performed. Boundary conditions, program
requirements and preferences have been formulated based on this analysis. By examining
hurricanes over the last decades, a hurricane has been simulated with an occurrence of once in
the
fifty years. In the situation characterisation the city has been divided into several catchment
areas to determine their vulnerability (expressed in total amount of water accumulation), taking
into account the capacity of the current drainage system in the event of such a hurricane.
Four solutions have been chosen to elaborate. In this elaboration, calculations have been performed on the design and construction. For the implementation of the options suitable locations
have been determined and the possibilities and risks have been defi
ned.
In order to test the elaborated solutions on socioeconomic factors in combination with ecology,
safety and politics, a multi-criteria analysis has been performed. It can be concluded that all
options differ a lot from each other. Every option tackles another side of the problem and
therefore they score on totally different aspects. In the discussion, it is further elaborated what
the supplementary advantages and disadvantages of the proposed solutions are. Using this, the
integral system of water management measures is considered.
A few
fields can be found on which could be made an improvement in the future. Firstly,
the political system requires short term measures to count on enough support. Besides, citizens
should be kept informed and have to be made aware of the flooding problem. Drainage expansion
needs to take place in order to relief the most crucial parts in the city from their excess of water
during extreme weather conditions. Lastly, when expanding the city, the amount of green space
and inundation risks of the concerning area should be always kept in mind.
... Read more

Since 2003 there is a cooperation between the Hydraulic Engineering department of Delft University of Technology and Bulgarian universities. The cooperation focusses on exchange of knowledge and the development of the coast in the area of Varna. Dutch and Bulgarian students get the possibility to gain experience in data collecting, processing and interpreting. Repeating this fieldwork every year in the same area will provide an overview of the coastal development in the Varna area. The students will act as consultants for local hotel owners at the Varna coast. Their work consists of measuring hydraulic aspects in the project area and making a rehabilitation plan for the St. Elias Marina. Data collection consist of inventory material near site, beach measurements, wave measurements, profile measurements, quarry analysis and a bathymetric survey. The rehabilitation plan contains the development of sub-areas in the St. Elias Marina like the peninsula, north beach, south beach and the breakwater. ... Read more