Hydraulic performance analysis for homogeneous mound breakwaters: Application of dimensional analysis and a new experimental technique

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to apply the methodology proposed by Díaz-Carrasco et al. (2020), based on the dimensional analysis and a new experimental technique, to estimate and study the wave energy transformation on homogeneous mound breakwaters. The dimensional analysis includes the main variables of wave train, porous media and slope geometry that influence the hydraulic performance on mound breakwaters. For that, laboratory tests were performed in a wave flume for a homogeneous and permeable mound breakwater. A new experimental technique derived from the methodology of Díaz-Carrasco et al. (2020) is also applied for designing wave conditions in laboratory based on the interplay that the relative water depth, h/L, and the wave steepness, H/L, has on the hydraulic performance of the structure, called the sample space. An analysis was conducted to study the influence that each dimensionless variable has on wave energy transformation. The experimental results shows that there is a relationship between the reflected, KR2, transmitted, KT2, and dissipated energy, D∗, and the product of the relative water depth, h/L, and the incident wave steepness, HI/L. The selection of wave conditions from the new experimental technique of sample space allows quantifying regions of wave energy transformation and wave breaker types on the breakwater and it seems to be a useful technique for designing laboratory conditions.