WIND EFFECTS ON RUNUP AND OVERTOPPING: INFLUENCE ON BREAKWATER CREST DESIGN

A scale model of the NW Zeebrugge breakwater was tested under windy and windless conditions in the wind and wave tunnel of the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV) to study the effects of wind on runup and overtopping. The wind field is defined by a Pitot static survey within the wind and wave tunnel; runup is evaluated by a digital stepgauge, and the volume of overtopping discharge is driven into a tank and measured by a scale. As a result of the tests performed in the UPV, runup and overtopping were found to be increased by the wind. Additionally, the mean water level (MWL) is increased by the effect of wind while wind waves are produced in the flume riding over the mechanically generated ones. Windless experiments in the UPV and prototype measurements have been compared as available under the European Union (EU) funded project OPTICREST.