BREAKWATERS AND COAST DEFENSES - WAVE OVERTOPPING OF SEAWALLS, BREAKWATERS AND SHORELINE STRUCTURES

This Technical Note reviews information available to coastal and dam engineers on wave overtopping of breakwaters, seawalls, coastal revetments, and embankment dams. The main wave and structural parameters that influence overtopping are identified, and design methods to estimate wave run-up levels, the number of waves overtopping and the mean overtopping discharge and peak overtopping volumes are identified. The Note particularly identifies methods to estimate the mean overtopping discharge; the development of new or supplementary equations/coefficients. The Note discusses present uncertainty in the prediction methods, and therefore the most critical gaps in the information needed for design, Guidance on levels of overtopping to be used in design work are identified; and suggestions are advanced for the direction of future research work.