OVERTOPPING FLOWS AND RELATED HAZARDS: A CASE OF STUDY FROM THE CATALAN COAST

Corrado Altomare,Alessandra Saponieri,Tomohiro Suzuki,Xavi Gironella,Toon Verwaest,Mauro Campagnola

doi:10.9753/icce.v36v.structures.10

Abstract

Design criteria for coastal defenses exposed to wave overtopping are usually restricted to the assessment of mean discharges and maximum individual overtopping volumes, however it is not possible to give unambiguous or precise limits to tolerable overtopping for all kind of layouts (EurOtop, 2018). A few studies (e.g. Endoh and Takahashi, 1994) analyzed the relationship between wave overtopping flows and hazard levels for people at the crest of sea dikes. Sandoval (2016) confirmed that one single value of admissible mean discharge or individual overtopping volume is not a sufficient indicator of the hazard, but detailed characterization of flow velocities and depths is required. This work presents the results of an experimental campaign aiming at characterizing the flow characteristics associated to maximum individual overtopping volumes for an urbanized stretch of a town along the Catalan coast, where a bike path and a railway run along the coastline, exposed to significant overtopping events every stormy season.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/DwVl9wFJoq0

Highlights

Design criteria for coastal defenses exposed to wave overtopping are usually restricted to the assessment of mean discharges and maximum individual overtopping volumes, it is not possible to give unambiguous or precise limits to tolerable overtopping for all kind of layouts (EurOtop, 2018)
Overtopping measurement system consisted of: overtopping tank with two load cells to measure the weight of the overtopping water later converted into volume; two high-speed cameras to measure overtopping flow depths and velocities; two ultrasonic sensors on the dike top to measure flow depths
Overtopping flow depths and velocities proved to be dependent on the geometry layout, even for same overtopping rates

Summary

Introduction

Design criteria for coastal defenses exposed to wave overtopping are usually restricted to the assessment of mean discharges and maximum individual overtopping volumes, it is not possible to give unambiguous or precise limits to tolerable overtopping for all kind of layouts (EurOtop, 2018). MODEL SETUP Physical model experiments are carried out in the CIEMito wave flume at LIM/UPC. The flume is 17m long, 0.37m wide.

Results

Conclusion