Wave overtopping and scale effects: Experimental case study New Afsluitdijk

After more than 85 years, the iconic Afsluitdijk is in need of a reinforcement. During the latest safety assessment of Rijkswaterstaat the dike did not meet the standards at two components; the amount of wave overtopping (>10 l/m/s) and armour stability. This research goes into detail about the overtopping on the Afsluitdijk. In the new design a lot a of different factors influence the amount of wave overtopping: the roughness of several elements and a berm. The combination of these different factors makes it difficult to make a reliable estimation of the amount of wave overtopping. In the design new materials are used of which the effect on wave overtopping is unknown. The band width of the design is very narrow so an accurate prediction of the amount of overtopping in the prototype is necessary. Physical model tests of two different dike section are used in this research. These dike sections are tested on different scales (small to large) to validate the final design on prototype scale. Not much is known about the possible scale effects on wave overtopping so this research goes into more detail on this issue.
Afsluitdijk
Civil Engineering | Hydraulic Engineering