Coastal modelling - fanatical about detail

We model the sea in extraordinary detail

Every CCell project starts with a detailed model of the sea at your site: decades of measured data and thousands of years of simulated waves, currents and storms. It is why our reefs are sized and placed for your coast, not copied from somewhere else.

How to use our modelling Our modelling chain

Why it matters

Most coastal studies model the storms on record. We model the ones that haven't happened yet.

Many schemes are designed from a few decades of records and standard tables. We simulate the full range of what your coast is likely to face, today and under future climates.

Fewer surprises

The design is tested against thousands of years of conditions, including the rare storms.

The right size, in the right place

No over-building to be safe, and no gaps where the sea finds a way round.

Evidence you can show

Results owners, councils, funders and regulators can follow, with the assumptions written down.

Our track record

Over a decade of research behind every model

1,000sof years of waves and storms simulated for each site

Since 2013research and development backed by Innovate UK, and by EPSRC since 2015

HPChigh-performance simulation supported through the EU's Horizon 2020 programme

In-houseAn entire suite of CFD, SPH, coastal and stochastic models, built and evolved by CCell over more than a decade

Simulated sea states compared with measured data (CCell)

Validated against the real sea

Models are checked against buoy records, satellite data and our own measurements from CCell Sense. We also test the erosion and storm surge they estimate against what actually happened in real events, so you can see how well they match before you rely on them.

Every code change and every new project is validated against standard codes such as SWAN and TELEMAC. Our models are tuned for each geography and for long-term analysis, and are typically 5-10 times faster than SWAN or TELEMAC with no loss of accuracy, using solvers that are more stable. They are also fully integrated, so the same chain can reproduce past changes in the coastline from real events and predict the long-term impact of climate change.

Our modelling chain

From the open ocean to a single reef unit

Each stage feeds the next, and each is checked against measurements before we move on. The models are our own and fully integrated, so nothing is lost between stages.

Data

Decades of wave, wind and water-level records from NOAA, Copernicus, satellites and buoys, combined with bathymetry and site surveys we carry out ourselves.

NOAACopernicusSatelliteSite survey

Satellite-derived map of the seabed and shallows — Water depths and coastlines derived from numerous satellite images, and calibrated against local depth measurements.

Wave Statistics

The model is trained on decades of historical data, so it learns how waves, periods, directions and water levels occur together, then generates thousands of years of realistic sea states, including joint extremes.

Multivariate stochastic modelJoint extremes

Environmental contours of wave height against wave period, for two ranges of wave direction

Regional waves and surge

Our own coastal wave and hydrodynamic models carry those sea states to the coast, along with tides and currents, and hurricane-track and storm-surge models for the events that matter most in tropical regions. We check them against SWAN and TELEMAC.

In-house coastal modelHurricane tracksStorm surgeTidal currentsValidated against SWAN and TELEMAC

Animation of the storm surge, in metres, as Hurricane Irma in 2017 passes over the Caribbean — Hurricane Irma (2017) crossing the Turks & Caicos, from 7 hours before closest approach to 11 hours after. The storm’s eye follows the real track; colours show surge in orange and set-down in blue.

Animation of tidal currents around the Turks and Caicos cays over a tidal cycle — One spring-tide day (28 Oct) in the Turks & Caicos cays north of Providenciales. Colour shows current speed, and moving particles show the flow. The clock shows local time.

Nearshore and shoreline

Our phase-resolving and SPH models capture waves breaking over reefs and beaches, and the currents they drive around the structure. We model sand transport and shoreline change through history, today and into the future, with and without a project.

Phase-resolvingSPHWave-driven currentsSediment transportShoreline evolutionValidated against XBeach

Animation of wave-driven currents flowing around a reef during a storm — Currents that the storm drives around the same reefs, including the jet through the gap and the current along the beach.

Structure

CFD and extreme non-linear wave models resolve flow through the reef itself: loads, porosity and wave breaking. Finite-element analysis then checks every member of the structure.

CFDSPHFluid-structureFEM

Finite-element analysis model of a hyperboloid reef unit — FEM analysis of the extreme 1:100 yr loads from waves breaking on the reef

A bamboo-clad hyperboloid reef unit on the beach before installation, with the sun behind it — FEM analysis of the extreme 1:100 yr loads from waves breaking on the reef

Validation

We test designs in university wave tanks and keep measuring after installation. CCell Sense data flows back into the models, so each project makes the next one better.

Wave tankField monitoringCCell Sense

Animation of a wave passing over a model arc reef in a wave flume, with the computed flow speeds overlaid on the video — Wave-flume test of our arc reef design at Imperial College London (solid reef, 0% porosity), compared with the CFD model. Colours show the modelled flow speed.

In plain terms

What the model tells you

Your question	What we model	What you get
Is my beach really at risk?	Shoreline history and wave exposure	A clear concern rating and what is driving it
Will a reef work here?	Waves, currents and sand with and without a reef	Predicted change to the beach and the water
What size, and where?	Reef layout options tested side by side	A design sized for your coast
Will it survive a hurricane?	Extreme events and forces on the structure	A design tested to agreed storm conditions
What about the neighbours?	Effects along the coast either side	Evidence for permits and stakeholders

Storm damage on Grand Bahama after Hurricane Matthew (CCell)

Evidence from the field

What Hurricane Matthew showed us

Hurricane Matthew damaged around 95 percent of homes in Eight Mile Rock. When we surveyed Grand Bahama the year after, damage to coastal property was concentrated where there was no offshore reef. Where reefs were present, larger waves broke further out and sand built up behind them.

Modelling for nature too

Protection that doesn't cost the sea

The same models that size the reef also show how a scheme affects the coast around it.

Fewer side effectsWe check that protecting one stretch doesn't move the problem to the next.

Habitat by designReefs are placed where they protect the coast and give marine life a home.

Evidence for permitsModelling for permit applications and environmental surveys.

Measured afterwardsCCell Sense data checks the model against what really happens.

How a CCell reef, power module and sensors fit together (CCell illustration). Why we build reefs

Case studies

What our modelling has found

From resort beaches in the Caribbean to a monsoon coast in India and reef design in the Mediterranean: the question, what we did and what the model showed.

Telchac Puerto, Mexico

From wave model to working reef

Wave modelling placed a 130 m reef that gained the beach about 181 m² of sand in six months.

Imperial College London

Testing reef shapes in a flume

Two reefs in series removed up to 40% more of the shorter waves than one.

Netanya, Israel

Designing a reef for the Mediterranean

Four wave datasets, extreme-value statistics, CFD and FEM behind a reef built to last.

See all case studies

Two ways to use our modelling

Planning a reef, or need modelling for your own project?

For coast owners

Modelling as part of your reef

Every CCell reef starts with modelling. Choose your route and we will show you the first step.

Hotels and resorts Coastal authorities Ports and marinas Estates and communities

For engineers and consultancies

Modelling on its own

Specialist CFD and wave modelling for your project or bid, as a subcontractor, white-label team or named partner. No reef required.

Engineering and modelling partners