Theoretical and experimental study on wave damping inside a rubble mound breakwater

Wave decay in a rubble mound breakwater has been analysed theoretically for various types of damping functions (linear, quadratic and polynomial). The applicability of these damping functions for wave decay in the landward part of the breakwater core has been investigated in large scale model tests. The properties of the rock materials that have been used in the model tests have been determined to provide a rational basis for the damping coefficients. The analysis is based on detailed measurements of wave conditions and pressure distributions inside the breakwater. The theoretical approaches have been validated and where necessary extended by empirical means. The wave decay inside the breakwater can be reasonably approximated by the commonly applied linear damping model (resulting in exponential wave height attenuation). An extended polynomial approach provides a slightly better fit to the experimental results and reflects more clearly the governing physical processes inside the structure.