HYU_COEL Group

On 12 November 2025, Vietnam Maritime University (VMU) welcomes Hanyang University ERICA, Kangwon National University, Geosystem Research, Kumamoto University in an international academic workshop Hải Phòng, Vietnam.

During the meeting, Prof. Sungwon Shin presented and introduced Hanyang University ERICA and Coastal and Ocean Engineering Laboratory (COEL) to the panels. Hanyang University's ERICA Campus (Education Research Industry Cluster at Ansan) is a specialized branch of Hanyang University located in Ansan, South Korea, with QS World University Rankings 2026: #159 globally and 6th in South Korea. It is renowned for its strong focus on industry-academia cooperation and its unique "cluster" model, where education, research, and businesses collaborate closely. 

Vietnam Maritime University (VMU) is a national key university located in Hải Phòng, Vietnam, specializing in maritime and seaward economic fields. Founded in 1956, it is Vietnam's first university to offer education in maritime, shipbuilding, and sea-based economics.

From this meeting and visit, it is expected that there will be future collaboration between Hanyang University ERICA and Vietnam Maritime University through various programs including research collaboration and Master-PhD integrated program scholarship in Hanyang University ERICA.

Following the institutional meeting, a technical workshop titled “Introduction to Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) for Coastal Hazard Mitigation” was held at VMU, featuring presentations from international researchers and experts in coastal engineering, numerical modeling, and environmental monitoring.

Professor Sungwon Shin presented research on artificial dune design for coastal erosion mitigation. His presentation focused on Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) such as dunes, emphasizing the need to quantify design parameters for artificial dune construction. Key decision parameters discussed included wave run-up, dune height, offshore wave conditions, foreshore slope, and water level.

Storm impacts were categorized into swash, collision, overwash, inundation, and regime transition, with particular emphasis on run-up estimation and wave overtopping. Numerical simulations using XBeach were presented to analyze dune erosion and deposition, demonstrating that certain initial dune profiles can be completely destroyed when located between the swash and collision regimes.

COEL Post-doctoral researcher, Dr. Dang Van Hai presented research on water flow circulation using Global Circulation Models (GCMs). He also presented the application of RTK-GPS buoy systems for tsunami early warning, along with comparative studies of green and gray coastal structures. His work emphasized prototype-scale vegetation modeling and the use of advanced tools such as OlaFlow (OpenFOAM) and Fusion 360 for coastal structure design.

He highlighted the growing need for hybrid coastal solutions, particularly in areas where mangrove restoration alone is limited by spatial constraints. His research has progressed from multi-scale mangrove experiments and movable mangrove systems toward hybrid designs combining green and gray structures.

COEL Graduate student, Suchan Joo, presented recent studies on NBS and hybrid coastal structures, focusing on the limitations of small-scale experiments. Using Froude similarity, multi-scale wave flume experiments (1:2, 1:4, and 1:12) revealed overestimations of 25–43% in small-scale results, reinforcing the need for scale-correction frameworks.

This meeting and workshop marked an important step toward strengthening international collaboration in coastal engineering, nature-based solutions, and hybrid coastal infrastructure research.