A case study of the new breakwater of the Port of Genova: Comparing the PIANC design method with the new EUROCODE

Breakwaters used to protect harbours and coastal areas worldwide are one of the most common coastal structures. The complexity of the physical processes associated with the design has led to the development of many empirical formulas while a standardized method for the selection of breakwaters’ design parameters in the EU does not yet exist. The...

Drift Force Numerical Simulation of a Vertical Wall and a Sphere in Regular Waves

Mooring system is one of the critical parts of a floating system in an offshore environment. It can be compromised by the wave drift force that exerts a considerable amount of load due to its non-linear properties. Due to the increase in complexity of the analysis, a numerical method is often opted to conduct the simulation of the wave drift...

Overtopping Flow Impact on a Vertical Wall on a Dike Crest

In this paper the impact process and mechanism of overtopping flow on a vertical wall on a dike crest are investigated by means of a series of physical model tests. A double-peaked force was recognized in a time series of an overtoping flow. Four stages were summarized for the whole overtopping flow impact process. An empirical relationship...

Hydrodynamic load on the building caused by overtopping waves

Wide crested dike can reduce the kinetic energy of the overtopping wave and make the overtopping wave to flow back to the seaside. If a coastal town were built on or near a dike, the overtopping wave running on the dike crest generates the force which can affect the buildings located in its path. However, quantifying the hydrodynamic load on the...

Design of vertical breakwaters

In this book, different types of breakwaters are introduced and their historical development is described in order to understand the advantages and disadvantages associated with each type of breakwater. The failures of breakwaters are then discussed to demonstrate crucial points in their stability design. Finally, the design methods used for...

Wave transmission at vertical breakwaters

Recently, interest in vertical breakwaters has grown. The development of ports from natural small harbours to artificial large harbours facing the outer sea has demanded the construction of breakwaters in rougher seas. The vertical breakwater could play a role of importance in this development. To obtain general guidelines for the design of...

Economic optimal design of vertical breakwaters

In Europe the interest in and the importance of vertical breakwaters is growing. A central point is the optimal geometry, e.g. the width and height of the breakwater caisson chosen such that the total costs over the lifetime of the structure are minimized. Probabilistic design tools provide several methods to determine the probability of failure...

The application of spectral analysis in the determination of wave loads on vertical breakwaters

Vertical breakwaters are used in the design of harbours to create a protective area. This protective area can be an approach channel or the harbour itself. Because of large new projects, such as Maasvlakte 11 in the Netherlands and the increasing sizes of ships, many harbours have to be placed in deep water. Deep water requires higher...

Wave impacts on vertical breakwaters

The need for coastal structures, such as breakwaters, at great water depths is rapidly increasing as a result ofthe increasing draught of large vessels and off-shore land reclamations which can, for instance, be used for the benefit of the expansion of harbours and related industrial activities. In water depths greater than approximately 10 m...

The design of upright breakwaters

The historical development of upright breakwaters in Japan is briefly reviewed as an introduction. Various wave pressure formulas for vertical walls are discussed, and then the design formulas currently employed in Japan are presented with an example of calculation. Several design factors are also discussed.

Laboratory investigation on the overtopping rate of seawalls by irregular waves

Series of measurements with irregular waves were undertaken for model seawalls of vertical walls with and without protection by concrete block mounds. Experimental data were compared and supplemented with theoretical calculations by the combination of the author's random wave breaking model in shallow waters and the weir type overflow model. The...

Scouring of a sand bed in front of a vertical breakwater

The scouring profile of a bottom consisting of movable material as this is formed in front of a vertical wall under influence of the standing wave against this wall is discussed. The form of this profile is different for coarse and fine material. In the case of fine material this material is moved in suspension by the mass transport currents...

Interim report on wave-pressure research

Description of the original tests of Bagnold on wave impacts.

Essai sur les digues maritimes verticales

Classic article on wave pressures on vertical walls.