Numerical Investigation of Wave Overtopping in Impermeable Seawalls Coated with Sand-Based Porous Media

Emami, Arefeh; Elahian, Elaheh; Parghi, Anant; Qorbani Fouladi, Meisam

doi:10.61882/NMCE.2507.1096

Numerical Investigation of Wave Overtopping in Impermeable Seawalls Coated with Sand-Based Porous Media

Document Type : Research

Authors

Arefeh Emami ¹

Elaheh Elahian ²

Anant Parghi ³

Meisam Qorbani Fouladi ⁴

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Hormozgan, Bandar abbas, Iran

² MSc. Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Hormozgan, Bandar abbas, Iran

³ Department of Civil Engineering, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat-395007, Gujarat, India

⁴ Department of Civil Engineering, University of Science and Technology of Mazandaran, Behshahr, Mazandaran, Iran

10.61882/NMCE.2507.1096

Abstract

A seawall's structural integrity can be damaged by wave overtopping. To mitigate wave overtopping, this study investigates the effectiveness of incorporating a porous layer into impermeable seawalls. A numerical model wave was developed using a finite volume method and first validated by simulating an impermeable seawall without a porous layer, showing a 90% agreement with laboratory data. Applying a porous sandstone layer on the seaward face of the impermeable seawall followed this validation. A study was conducted to investigate the impact of various characteristics of the porous layer on the reduction of overtopping discharge, including thickness, porosity, and grain size. It was found that increasing the thickness of the porous layer (up to 2 m) resulted in a 60% reduction in overtopping discharge, while all other parameters remained constant. Moreover, increasing the porosity of the sand layer improved the reduction rate by 67%, indicating enhanced energy dissipation and absorption capacities. Using grain sizes of 0.2–1 mm and 2–3 mm reduces overtopping discharge by 35.57% and 66.2%, respectively. The results of this study demonstrate that the proposed approach is a viable and practical method of reducing wave overtopping.

Keywords

Seawalls

Porous media

Wave overtopping

Numerical modelling

Sandstone layer

Subjects

Hydraulic Engineering

[1] Koosheh, A., Etemad-Shahidi, A., Cartwright, N., Tomlinson, R., and van Gent, M. R., "Individual wave overtopping at coastal structures: A critical review and the existing challenges," Applied Ocean Research, vol. 106, p. 102476, 2021.

[2] Owen, M., "Design of seawalls allowing for wave overtopping," Report Ex, vol. 924, p. 39, 1980.

[3] Goda, Y., Random seas and design of maritime structures. World Scientific Publishing Company, 2010.

[4] van der Meer, J. W., "Wave run-up and wave overtopping at dikes," Wave forces on inclined and vertical structures, ASCE, 1995.

[5] Etemad-Shahidi, A., Shaeri, S., and Jafari, E., "Prediction of wave overtopping at vertical structures," Coastal Engineering, vol. 109, pp. 42-52, 2016.

[6] Pillai, K., Etemad-Shahidi, A., and Lemckert, C., "Wave overtopping at berm breakwaters: Experimental study and development of prediction formula," Coastal Engineering, vol. 130, pp. 85-102, 2017.

[7] Williams, H. E., Briganti, R., Romano, A., and Dodd, N., "Experimental analysis of wave overtopping: A new small scale laboratory dataset for the assessment of uncertainty for smooth sloped and vertical coastal structures," Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, vol. 7, no. 7, p. 217, 2019.

[8] Shaeri, S. and Etemad-Shahidi, A., "Wave overtopping at vertical and battered smooth impermeable structures," Coastal Engineering, vol. 166, p. 103889, 2021.

[9] Chen, H., Yuan, J., Cao, D., and Liu, P. L.-F., "Wave overtopping flow striking a human body on the crest of an impermeable sloped seawall. Part II: Numerical modelling," Coastal Engineering, vol. 168, p. 103892, 2021.

[10] Cao, D., Yuan, J., Chen, H., Zhao, K., and Liu, P. L.-F., "Wave overtopping flow striking a human body on the crest of an impermeable sloped seawall. Part I: Physical modeling," Coastal Engineering, vol. 167, p. 103891, 2021.

[11] Kobayashi, N. and Wurjanto, A., "Wave overtopping on coastal structures," Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering, vol. 115, no. 2, pp. 235-251, 1989.

[12] Hubbard, M. E. and Dodd, N., "A 2D numerical model of wave run-up and overtopping," Coastal Engineering, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 1-26, 2002.

[13] Xiao, H., Huang, W., and Tao, J., "Numerical modeling of wave overtopping a levee during Hurricane Katrina," Computers & Fluids, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 991-996, 2009.

[14] Tsung, W.-S., Hsiao, S.-C., and Lin, T.-C., "Numerical simulation of solitary wave run-up and overtopping using Boussinesq-type model," Journal of Hydrodynamics, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 899-913, 2012.

[15] Yuan, T., Wang, X., Qu, K., and Zhang, L., "Hydrodynamic Loads and Overtopping Processes of a Coastal Seawall under the Coupled Impact of Extreme Waves and Wind," Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, vol. 11, no. 11, p. 2087, 2023.

[16] CHIWATA, M., HASUMI, K., ODA, Y., and ITO, K., "NUMERICAL STUDY ON WAVE OVERTOPPING AND OVERFLOW THROUGH SEAWALL LINE IN STORM SURGE," 土木学会論文集 B2 (海岸工学)(Web), vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 109-114, 2020.

[17] Pu, J. H. and Shao, S., "Smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulation of wave overtopping characteristics for different coastal structures," The Scientific World Journal, vol. 2012, no. 1, p. 163613, 2012.

[18] Chen, W., Warmink, J., Van Gent, M., and Hulscher, S., "Numerical modelling of wave overtopping at dikes using OpenFOAM®," Coastal engineering, vol. 166, p. 103890, 2021.

[19] Yamamoto, T., "On the response of a Coulomb‐damped poroelastic bed to water waves," Marine Georesources & Geotechnology, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 93-130, 1983.

[20] Lee, T., Tsai, C., and Jeng, D., "Ocean waves propagating over a coulomb-damped poroelastic seabed of finite thickness: An analytical solution," Computers and Geotechnics, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 119-149, 2002.

[21] Song, C., "Dynamic response of poro-elastic bed to water waves," PhD Thesis, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, ROC, 1993.

[22] Jeng, D.-S. and Cha, D., "Effects of dynamic soil behavior and wave non-linearity on the wave-induced pore pressure and effective stresses in porous seabed," Ocean Engineering, vol. 30, no. 16, pp. 2065-2089, 2003.

[23] Zhou, X.-L., Xu, B., Wang, J.-H., and Li, Y.-L., "An analytical solution for wave-induced seabed response in a multi-layered poro-elastic seabed," Ocean Engineering, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 119-129, 2011.

[24] Lan, Y.-J. and Lee, J.-F., "On waves propagating over a submerged poro-elastic structure," Ocean Engineering, vol. 37, no. 8-9, pp. 705-717, 2010.

[25] Lan, Y.-J., Hsu, T.-W., Lai, J.-W., Chang, C.-C., and Ting, C.-H., "Bragg scattering of waves propagating over a series of poro-elastic submerged breakwaters," Wave Motion, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 1-12, 2011.

[26] Lan, Y.-J., Hsu, T.-W., and Chen, C.-Y., "ANALYSIS OF WAVE INTERACTION WITH SUBMERGED ADJACENT PORO-ELASTIC BREAKWATERS," Coastal Engineering Proceedings, vol. 1, no. 33, p. 31, 2012.

[27] Lan, Y.-J., Kuo, Y.-S., Hsu, T.-W., and Chen, C.-Y., "On waves propagating over two submerged closely spaced poroelastic breakwaters," Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part M: Journal of Engineering for the Maritime Environment, vol. 227, no. 3, pp. 295-308, 2013.

[28] Emami, A. and Gharabaghi, A. R. M., 2018, "REDUCING HEAVE RESPONSE AMPLITUDE OPERATOR OF A SEMI-SUBMERSIBLE PLATFORM USING PORO-ELASTIC PLATES," in The 13th Int Conf on Coasts, Ports & Marine Structures, 2018, pp. 229-230.

[29] Lan, Y. and Hsu, T., "Analytical Solution for Wave Interaction with a Stack-type Double-layer Composite Poroelastic Submerged Structure," Applied Mathematical Sciences, vol. 8, no. 37, pp. 1799-1816, 2014.

[30] Emami, A. and Gharabaghi, A. R. M., "Application of poroelastic layers in a semi-submersible platform: Devising an efficient heave motion response reduction method," Ocean engineering, vol. 201, p. 107148, 2020.

[31] Emami, A., Pourjafari, N., and Parghi, A., "Effect of porous SBR composites on mitigating the heave motion response of a semi-submersible platform," Ocean Engineering, vol. 295, p. 116856, 2024.

[32] Mohammadi, P., Emami, A., Gharabaghi, A. R. M., Tahmooresi, S., Chenaghlou, M. R., and Ghavifekr, H. B., "Evaluation of RAOs of a semi-submersible platform using field measurements: A full-scale model in Caspian sea environmental conditions," Marine Structures, vol. 91, p. 103467, 2023.

[33] Hieu, P. D. and Vinh, P. N., "Numerical study of wave overtopping of a seawall supported by porous structures," Applied Mathematical Modelling, vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 2803-2813, 2012.

[34] Emami, A. and Karimirad, M., "Further development of offshore floating solar and its design requirements," Marine Structures, vol. 100, p. 103730, 2025.

[35] Selvadurai, A. and Suvorov, A., "Poroelastic properties of rocks with a comparison of theoretical estimates and typical experimental results," Scientific Reports, vol. 12, no. 1, p. 10975, 2022.

[36] Razavi, A. R. and Ahmadi, H., "FLOW-3D," Civil Engineering Journal, vol. 3, no. 10, 2017.

[37] Scott-Pomerantz, C. D., "The k-epsilon model in the theory of turbulence," University of Pittsburgh, 2004.

[38] Rodi, W., Turbulence models and their application in hydraulics. Routledge, 2017.

[39] Launder, B. E. and Spalding, D. B., 1983. "The numerical computation of turbulent flows," in Numerical prediction of flow, heat transfer, turbulence and combustion: Elsevier, pp. 96-116.

[40] Hirt, C. W. and Nichols, B. D., "Volume of fluid (VOF) method for the dynamics of free boundaries," Journal of computational physics, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 201-225, 1981.

[41] Patankar, S., Numerical heat transfer and fluid flow. CRC press, 2018.

[42] Rezaei, F., Tajziehchi, M., Soltanpour, M., and Emami, A., 2014, "Prediction of wave characteristics in Persian Gulf within Qeshm and Hormoz Islands using swan wave model," in International Conference on Coasts, Ports and marine Structures, 2014.

[43] Qu, S., Liu, S., and Ong, M. C., "An evaluation of different RANS turbulence models for simulating breaking waves past a vertical cylinder," Ocean Engineering, vol. 234, p. 109195, 2021.