TY - JOUR

T1 - Full-scale experimental study on wave reflection and run-up at stepped revetments

AU - Schoonees, Talia

AU - Kerpen, Nils B.

AU - Schlurmann, Torsten

N1 - Funding Information: This research was part of project waveSTEPS funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Coastal Engineering Research Council (KFKI) , grant number 03KIS118 .

PY - 2022/3

Y1 - 2022/3

N2 - Stepped revetments are suitable coastal structures in urban areas as they effectively limit wave overtopping whilst offering recreational benefits. A deeper understanding of wave-structure interactions facilitates optimised stepped revetment designs. The wave reflection and wave run-up processes are important as they indirectly provide insights in the wave energy dissipation of stepped revetments. Only few studies have focused on wave reflection from stepped revetments, while the wave run-up process on stepped revetments has widely been studied, yet only with small-scale wave flume tests and mostly with regular waves. As the wave overtopping rates in small-scale wave flume tests underestimate those measured in full-scale experiments, these studies are likely affected by scale. To address these knowledge gaps, this paper investigates wave reflection from and wave run-up on stepped revetments by means of full-scale flume experiments. Two cross-sections, each with a slope of 1:3, were studied with uniform step heights of 0.17 m and 0.50 m. It was found that previous small-scale studies underestimate relative run-up heights by 31–51%. Empirical formulae were derived to estimate wave reflection coefficients and wave run-up heights of stepped revetments. The wave reflection and run-up processes are described and provide further insight in the functioning of stepped revetments.

AB - Stepped revetments are suitable coastal structures in urban areas as they effectively limit wave overtopping whilst offering recreational benefits. A deeper understanding of wave-structure interactions facilitates optimised stepped revetment designs. The wave reflection and wave run-up processes are important as they indirectly provide insights in the wave energy dissipation of stepped revetments. Only few studies have focused on wave reflection from stepped revetments, while the wave run-up process on stepped revetments has widely been studied, yet only with small-scale wave flume tests and mostly with regular waves. As the wave overtopping rates in small-scale wave flume tests underestimate those measured in full-scale experiments, these studies are likely affected by scale. To address these knowledge gaps, this paper investigates wave reflection from and wave run-up on stepped revetments by means of full-scale flume experiments. Two cross-sections, each with a slope of 1:3, were studied with uniform step heights of 0.17 m and 0.50 m. It was found that previous small-scale studies underestimate relative run-up heights by 31–51%. Empirical formulae were derived to estimate wave reflection coefficients and wave run-up heights of stepped revetments. The wave reflection and run-up processes are described and provide further insight in the functioning of stepped revetments.

KW - Coastal structures

KW - Large scale

KW - Physical model tests

KW - Roughness factor

KW - Stair-shaped seawalls

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121272209&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.coastaleng.2021.104045

DO - 10.1016/j.coastaleng.2021.104045

M3 - Article

VL - 172

JO - Coastal engineering

JF - Coastal engineering

SN - 0378-3839

IS - 104045

M1 - 104045

ER -