Engineering literature is full of materials on various aspects of BW planning, loading, stability, designs, and effects assessments. In this piece let us attempt to understand some interesting aspects of BW engineering. The efforts resulted in the refinement of existing formulae and coefficients, and yielded new ones. Physical scale modeling tests – such as those in the massive Delta Flume in Emmeloord (the Netherlands), and in the CERC (Coastal Engineering Research Center) facilities in Vicksburg, Mississippi were some of the examples. The risk of failure, the scale and cost of such massive structures – have generated renewed research interests in coastal labs around the world. But near the end of the construction period – a storm that registered a lower wave height, dislodged about 2/3rds of the units – and some subsequent less powerful storms did the rest of the work by destroying the BW. The Sines Deepwater (~ 50 m) BW was designed and constructed of massive 42 tonne armor-layer dolos ( dolos are pre-fab concrete units, designed to achieve good interlocks and stability when placed randomly – each unit has three stems, the central and the two twisted ones on ends) to withstand waves up to 100-year extreme of 11 m high significant wave (see Spectral Wavesfor definition). During my studies at Delft in 1982 – the event and the possible lapses and causes of its failure – came for discussions again and again in coastal engineering lectures. Ever since the 1978 failure of a massive breakwater (BW) in Port Sines, Portugal – coastal engineers around the world went back to reviewing the BW design approaches and methods.
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