Experimental Study of Scour Due to Breaking Waves in Front of Vertical-Wall Breakwaters

Scour is an important cause of instability of breakwaters. In case of vertical-wall breakwaters, toe scour can cause collapse of the whole structure. This paper is concerned with an experimental study of the effects of regular breaking waves on scour at toe of vertical-wall breakwaters. Experiments were carried out in a wave flume with regular waves for two cases of a beach with and without a breakwater. Bed profiles and scour depths for various wave heights, periods and depths were recorded. For the case of a beach without a breakwater, the observed bed profile types are compared to predictions. For the case of a beach with a breakwater, factors affecting the scour are investigated, and an empirical equation for scour depth at toe of a vertical wall is proposed.