Luis A. Giménez-Curto

Flow characteristics on rough, permeable slopes under wave action

Abstract This article presents an exponential model to represent flow characteristics — run-up, run-down, reflexion or transmission — on rough, permeable slopes under regular waves. Interaction curves are defined, which quantify the phenomenon as a function of wave height and period, and, finally, by means of the hypothesis of equivalence, these results are used in order to obtain a probabilistic approximation of flow characteristics under irregular wave action. The validity of these models is backed up by empirical data.

The joint effect of the wave height and period on the stability of rubble mound breakwaters using Iribarren's number

Abstract A new analysis of the experimental results of Iribarren is undertaken. Using a single parameter, Q, the stability of a rubble mound breakwater is studied. This parameter shows a strong correlation with Iribarrens number ξ = tan α √( H L o ) and thus manifests among others the effect of the wave period on the stability. A function, Q = f (ξ), which includes two coefficients which depend on slope and type of armour units, is proposed to evaluate the response of a rubble mound breakwater to the action of regular waves. The new formula is applied to tests performed by Hudson, and Ahrens and Mc Cartney with satisfactory results. Finally an interaction curve is presented which defines stability in a wave height-wave period diagram for a given rubble mound breakwater.

Comment on “Characteristic dimensions of the step‐pool bed configuration: An experimental study” by Joanna C. Curran and Peter R. Wilcock

] Curran and Wilcock [2005] report an experimentalstudy on the formation of step-pool patterns under activetransport of all sediment sizes. They focus on the geomet-rical properties (step height, H, and step spacing, L) of thebed forms and argue against pattern regularity invoked byprevious researchers.[

Mound breakwaters under oblique wave attack; a working hypothesis

Abstract A first approach to the behaviour, flow characteristics and stability, of mound breakwaters under oblique wave attack is undertaken by assuming that oblique incidence only affects the slope angle. For run-up and run-down this approach shows a reasonable degree of agreement with experimental data for small incidence angles (say up to 45°) becoming unreliable for large incidence angles.

Verification of the flow separation in the jet regime

We provide new theoretical arguments which together with recent measurements by Gong et al. [1996], strongly support the existence of the jet flow regime [Giménez-Curto and Corniero, 1996]. The theoretical arguments refer in particular to the introduction of a formal condition for flow separation from uneven surfaces for laminar and turbulent flow as well. This condition, which is a first requirement of the jet regime flow model, is compared with existing information.

An approximation to the failure probability of maritime structures under a sea state

Abstract In this paper a new method is put forward to determine the failure probability of a maritime structure under the action of a sea state. This method takes into account the joint influence of wave height and wave period. The fundamental influence of the sea state duration is shown as a new contribution.

Application of Fourier methods to water waves in small depths

Fourier approximation methods for solving symmetrical water waves in very small depths (large Ursell number) are improved in two respects. First, by using a simple and effective initial estimate of the solution, which avoids the appearance of multiple crested solutions and allows direct convergence for large wave amplitudes, with a substantial reduction of the computing time in comparison with the usual stepping method. Second, by introducing a method which permits a clustering around the crest of the points on the free surface at which the equations are to be satisfied. Both improvements are based on the application of the so-called WPC approach (Wave Plus Current), which consists of representing a very long wave by a shorter wave prolonged with a uniform current. This approach has an error which is shown to decrease exponentially with the square root of the Ursell number. Fourier methods are then extended to allow very accurate calculations for almost the entire range of wave parameters, the only exceptions being near breaking waves.