Rubble mound breakwater damage assessment through stereo photogrammetry in physical scale laboratory tests

Abstract

Scale-model tests are usually required to evaluate the hydraulic and structural behavior of proposed rubble-mound breakwater designs. In order to speed up and ease the armor layer damage assessment, we developed a technique based on stereo photogrammetry. A key feature of this technique is its ability to compensate for the refraction in the air-water interface, thus producing a survey of the envelope of the armor layer without the need to empty the wave flume or wave basin where the scale model tests are carried out. This article describes this technique and the tests made to establish confidence in it and in the damage evaluation on a breakwater scale model. Results led to an error estimation of only fractions of a centimeter.