Effect of wind velocity on wave overtopping

Abstract

Wave overtopping phenomenon under the strong wind often closes roads along a coast, and also causes a serious salt damage on landward area. The crown height of the seawall is usually determined by the design wave and the depth at the foot of the seawall to satisfy an allowable wave overtopping rate. On the other hand, wind parameters such as velocity and direction are not taken into account. In order to achieve a safety land use on coastal area, it is important to clear the effect of the wind on the wave overtopping phenomenon. Furthermore, wind parameters are desired to be included in seawall design. This study investigates the effect of the wind velocity on individual wave overtopping quantities generated by random waves, and proposes a model equation to estimate the wave overtopping rate under wind blowing conditions. Each volume of water over the seawall tended to increase with the wind velocity. This increasing tendency differed depending on the seawall type and wave conditions. This study confirmed the agreement between proposed model equation and experimental data obtained from the different type of seawall.