Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii, Design of Proposed Harbor for Pacific Missile Range Facility. Coastal Model Investigation

Abstract : A 1:60-scale, three-dimensional hydraulic model was used to investigate the design of a proposed harbor at Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii, with respect to wave action and entrance channel shoaling. The model reproduced the proposed harbor, approximately 4,600 ft of the Hawaiian shoreline, and sufficient offshore area in the Pacific Ocean to permit generation of the required test waves. One harbor configuration with two breakwater plans was tested. An 80-ft-long unidirectional, spectral wave generator, an automated data acquisition and control system, and a crushed coat tracer material were used in model operation. It was concluded from test results that: (a) For the harbor basin and entrance channel with no structures installed (Plan 1), wave heights in the berthing area will exceed the established 1.5-ft criterion for test waves from all five test directions. (b) For the harbor basin and entrance channel with no structures installed (Plan 1), sediment will migrate into the entrance channel for test waves from all five directions. (c) For the offshore breakwater plan (Plan 2), wave heights in the berthing area will exceed the established criterion for test waves from the predominant northwest direction. (d) For the offshore breakwater plan (Plan 2), sediment tracer north of the harbor will migrate southerly into the entrance channel for test waves from the predominant northwest direction. (e) For the dual shore-connected breakwater plan (Plan 3), wave heights will exceed the criterion in the berthing area by only 0.1 ft at one location. (f) For the dual shore-connected breakwater plan (Plan 3), no appreciable shoaling of the harbor entrance will occur.