Stability of rubble-mound breakwater using H50 wave height parameter

The prediction of rubble mound breakwaters' stability is one of the most important issues in coastal and maritime engineering. The stability of breakwaters strongly depends on the wave height. Therefore, selection of an appropriate wave height parameter is very vital in the prediction of stability number. In this study, H50, the average of the 50 highest waves that reach the breakwater in its useful life, was used to predict the stability of the armor layer. First, H50 was used instead of the significant wave height in the most recent stability formulas. It was found that this modification yields more accurate results. Then, for further improvement of the results, two formulas were developed using model tree.To develop the new formulas, two experimental data sets of irregular waves were used. Results indicated that the proposed formulas are more accurate than the previous ones for the prediction of the stability parameter. Finally, the proposed formulas were applied to regular waves and a wide range of damage levels and it was seen that the developed formulas are applicable in these cases as well.