Patent ID: 7461998

Claim:
A method for calculating the parameters of a groin field for stabilizing a beach, said method including the steps of: providing a computer system having (a) a database, memory and an input-output device; (b) a first software module for storing in the database and displaying beach profile data, significant wave height data, wave direction and period data, and wind speed and direction data, horizontal current data and grain size data; (c) a second software module for calculating wave transformation incident wave energy, wave energy dissipation, wave-set-up, wave-set-down, and alongshore currents; (d) a third software module for numerically modeling the data of said first and second software modules to provide a beach profile; (e) a fourth software module using iterative liner algebraic methods to generate groin field parameters including groin length, groin width, groin height, groin weight, groin spacing and groin aspect angle to the shore; employing said computer system to produce an engineering design for placement of one or more sand filled, low profile geotextile tubes in proximity to the beach to produce the groin field; and implementing the engineering design to place the one or more sand filled, low profile geotextile tubes in proximity to the beach in accordance with the engineering design to produce the groin field, wherein the incidence angle of the groin field to the shore, the length of the groin field, the width of the groin field, the height of the groin field, the cross-sectional height of the one or more sand filled, low profile geotextile tubes, the width of the one or more of the sand filled, low profile geotextile tubes, and/or the mass of one or more of the sand filled, low profile geotextile tubes are mathematically determined using an iterative series of model excursions in combination with probability analysis such that the groin field interacts with at least a portion of sediment carrying waves of the beach to reduce the velocity of the along shore current of said beach below the sediment carrying velocity of said beach by an amount sufficient to encourage deposition of sediment in proximity to the beach and mitigating erosion of the beach to stabilize the beach.