Sight from the top of the floating breakwater module





Sight from the bottom of the floating breakwater module into its plexiglass box




Frontal sight at sea level of the floating breakwater module into its plexiglass box

FEATURES AND FUNCIONALITIES OF THE ABOVE
ILLUSTRATED FLOATING BREAKWATER MODULE

 
As I believe it can appear evident from up-exhibited pictures, the kind of module I propose,
for its best performance in coastal defence, should be utilizable on littorals whose waters
 could have at least a 9-10 metres deep sounding, owing to the different immersed
appendages they are endowed.
 
This “floating reef” model, with its hexagonal breakwater reliefs that surround it perimetrically
till to the top and serve for smashing and weakening the highest wawes in case of rough sea,
because of its heavy weight and size, and as it can be filled with a remarkable body of water
in its coffer-dams purposely preset in its lower level as ballast, it can excellently carry out the
role of sandy shore’s defender. 

Its peculiar springly anchorages which depart from the “keel” and are joined to heavy and
suitable concrete or metal anchor logs, together with their “head frame drift fins” that enclose
 a large mass of water and “draw” at a profundity where waters are more quiet, they can offer
a considerable hydrodinamic resistance to the moving of standing above structure either in
horizontal or in vertical direction, and render itself nearly irremovable also when there is
stormy sea. 

As a matter of fact, this modules have hulls 12-20 m. wide, 80-200 m. long and 6-10 m. high,
all appendages except, and they must be deemed an effective option to natural rocky bloks or
concrete tetrapods.  Really for what concerns the marine environment protection and ichthyic
fauna, given their floating peculiarity and their underwater architecture fundamentally open that
don’t obstruct their encumbering area and don’t interfere with natural flowing of undercurrents,
they are without doubt preferable to traditional rocky reefs. 

The employment of the floating breakwaters I’ve designed, as they can be placed in all useful
directions also at a remarkable distance from the shore, they can permit an advanced smashing
of the more powerful and devastating billows.
Moreover, considering that they don’t alter preexistent sounding’s shape and they avoid the 
progressive silting up of littoral zone included between reefs and beach, they should be
certainly an effective contrast to the coastal erosion.

 In the new and better environmental context created by the installation of this innovative type
of artificial breakwater barriers, after sometime, it could follow not more necessary carrying
out the recurrent refeeding of eroded beaches by sands collected from deep soundings with
a huge waste of money, otherwise better usable by Local Government interested in such
requirement. 

For what regards the estimated cost of this kind of construction, it could result in a first time
a little higher if compared with that of a traditional rocky reef which however presents all the
above-mentioned disadvantages and prevents the recovery, the redrawing and a possible
and durable enlargement of existent sandy shore. 

Only for example and with an approximation of 10-15%, depending either from different and
particular features claimed by Local Government or from various soundings on which these
structures have to be anchored, the total expense for a more deep waters module having
dimensions of 18 x 100 x 8 metres (w. x l. x h.) should be about 1.6/Million of Euro, whereas
for a shallow waters module of dimensions: 12 x 80 x 6 it should be about 1/Million of Euro.

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