Influence of wave conditions in damages at scale model tests of rubble-mound breakwaters under sea level rising

Abstract

Usually, physical model tests support the design of breakwaters considering different incident wave conditions, including extreme events. This paper describes two-dimensional physical model tests of a rock armour breakwater, performed at LNEC´s experimental facilities, under the framework of the HYDRALAB+ project. The goal of the present work is to evaluate damage evolution under wave conditions resulting from future climate change scenarios. Test results are presented in terms of the non-dimensional damage parameter (S) and of the percentage of displaced armour units (D). The data analysis is focused on the cumulative damage progression related with wave parameters as Hmax and H2%, for the imposed storm sequences. The use of the stability number (Ns), considering both H=Hs and H=H2% revealed a good agreement in order to characterize its relationship with damage evolution. On the other hand, the use of Hmax revealed a decrease of the linearity on damage evolution.