A hybrid solution for the Galveston Seawall: A study on the reduction of the hydraulic loads by a sand cover at the Galveston Seawall with the use of XBeach

The City of Galveston is protected from extreme storm impact by a 17-km concrete seawall facing the Gulf of Mexico. Recent investigations have shown that the seawall may not be sufficient any more to protect against a 1 in 100 year design storm. Since raising the seawall disconnects the city from the beach and may be very costly, a hybrid...

Using a process-based model for dune safety assessment: A case study of Delfland with a 2DH XBeach model

With the implementation of new legal aspects for dune safety assessment in 2017, the current method, Duros+, is no longer feasible to represent the desired processes. This 1D deterministic, volume-balance model cannot simulate processes like inundation and overwash, which are crucial to fulfil the new requirements for dune safety assessment....

Simulating Barrier Island Evolution: Coupling Process-Based Models

Barrier islands are important features in the coastal zone, among others because they shelter the mainland from waves and storm surge. Thus, the degradation of barrier islands can pose a threat to coastal safety. Hence, there is a societal demand for understanding and predicting barrier island evolution. High energy events, such as storms and...

Dune erosion near sea walls; XBeach validation

During a storm dunes erode and provide sediment to the beach. The foreshore rises and the wave height decreases. Subsequently the wave-induced water level setup increases. Seawalls do not erode. The waves in front of the seawall remain high throughout the storm and the wave-induced water level setup hardly changes. Over a dune-dike connection a...

The longshore dimension in dune overwash modelling: Development, verification and validation of XBeach

The primary objective of this thesis is to generate a 2DH-numerical model to simulate dune overwash. The first stage in this is achieved by modifying the program code of an existing overwash model in development, XBeach, to enable 2DH calculations. In the second stage the hydrodynamics of the model are verified using theoretical and laboratory...