Resumo

MENDOZA-BALDWIN, Edgar; SILVA-CASARIN, Rodolfo; CLAVERO-GILABERT, María  e  LOSADA-RODRIGUEZ, Miguel Ángel. Evolution of the hydraulic behavior and of the geometry of homogeneous dikes deformed by waves. Tecnol. cienc. agua [online]. 2010, vol.1, n.2, pp.21-35. ISSN 2007-2422.

Throughout the world, the most commonly used structure for coastal protection is the mound breakwater. These structures are said to fail when units of the armor are moved, resulting in the formation of a very peculiar S-shaped profile. This new profile allows the structure to continue working and analysis has shown that the new "S" form is, in fact, very stable. The main objective of this paper is the study of the evolution of a straight slope into a new, stable, "S" profile. The change of the shape is analyzed as pieces of the armor are displaced and the wave-structure interaction is inspected at every stage of the deformation of the breakwater. Two experimental phases were developed to verify the repeatability of the results and the comparison between four modeling scenarios is presented. The results include the variations in the geometric properties of the models tested, the tendency of the reflection coefficients and the stable profiles reached at the end of every test. Having found similar and compatible results in all the tests, an idealization of the stable shape has been made in order to provide initial values for the development of design methodologies for structures of maximum stability.

Palavras-chave : coastal structures; breakwater stability; wave reflection; "S" profile; dike failure; geometric design of dikes; laboratory tests of breakwaters.