Hydrodynamic Characteristics of Curved-Front Seawall Models Compared with Vertical Seawall under Regular Waves

Seawalls remain one of the most widely adopted coastal-protection measure. The seawalls should be stable to ensure safety and optimally use the coastal space with a minimum or no waves overtopping but still keeping the crest elevation low. This may possibly be achieved by reshaping the front of the structure in such a way that it offers maximum resistance to the flow or enhances the dissipation of incident wave energy. With this as the background, an experimental study measuring run-up and overtopping of three different types of curved-front face seawall models, as well as the dynamic pressures exerted on each of them, was carried out. The measured parameters for the three types of seawalls are compared with that for a vertical seawall. All the tests were carried out with the models rigidly fixed over a bed slope of 1 in 30 in a wave flume and subjected to the action of regular waves. The details of the test facility, models, experimental program, results, and analysis are presented and discussed in this article.