Numerical modelling of flow depths and velocities at the crest of a rubble mound breakwater using OpenFOAM®

Breakwaters are built in coastal zones to alter sediment transport, or protect threatened habitats and port facilities. The rising sea level is causing more water to overtop these structures. Increasing amounts of overtopping discharge can compromise the security of people, or equipment standing on the crest of breakwaters. The overtopping flow...

Numerical modelling of forces, stresses and breakages of concrete armour units

Numerical modelling has the potential to probe the complexity of the interacting physics of rubble mound armour systems. Through forward modelling of armour unit packs, stochastic variables such as unit displacement and maximum contact force per unit during an external oscillatory disturbance can be predicted. The combined finite-discrete...

Breakwaters under construction exposed to oblique waves

A new series of physical model tests were conducted to analyse the behaviour of a breakwater core when it becomes exposed to wave attack. The emphasis of this research was on the measured influence of a wide stone grading on both the deformation of a breakwater trunk and the occurring longshore transport. This behaviour was investigated for both...

Toe rock stability for rubble mound breakwaters

Present design tools, as found in the Rock Manual or Coastal Engineering Manual, for the determination of toe rock size for rubble mound breakwaters are based on test data with a large spread: data is relatively dispersed around the centre and descriptive equations have limited applicability ranges. New research has been undertaken to contribute...

Stability of wide-graded rubble mounds

The reshaping of temporary rubble mounds like the core of breakwaters or reclamation bunds is often a concern for contractorsi n the construction stages of marine structures. The formulas found in literature for the prediction of such behavior are few, and they do not provide clear insight on the influence of relevant parameters, in particular...

Classification des digues

Development of a formula for the stability of rubble mound breakwaters.