Impacts on a storm wall caused by non-breaking waves overtopping a smooth dike slope

Will coastal towns survive the rising pressure, or better, the rising sea level in future decades? Waves overtop dikes, and the overtopping flow on the crest of the dike can cause damage. Wave impacts from these overtopping flows already became of interest in coastal engineering the past few years, but very little literature and almost no design formulae are available yet for irregular waves. This paper gives such design formulae for practical use. Experimental modeling at three different scales (small, middle and large scale) has been carried out to measure such impacts. The tested geometry was a smooth sloping dike (only non-breaking waves) with a promenade at crest level and a storm wall at the end of this promenade. The outcome of this paper are three methodologies to a) calculate wave impact forces on such a storm wall as a function of the hydraulic parameters; b) determine the (Weibull) distribution of all impacts in one test, with the shape and scale parameters also linked to the hydraulic parameters; and c) to provide an indirect approach to calculate the impact forces on the storm wall. In this last approach, the (distribution of the) individual overtopping waves are linked to the (distribution of the) overtopping flow parameters, which are then linked to the (distribution of the) impact forces. Finally, the empirical formulae from the aforementioned three methodologies are compared; analogies and differences are discussed, and guidance is provided to design storm walls against post overtopping impact forces. Results show that forces from waves overtopping the dikes are in the order of 20 to 40kN/m prototype scale in the dimensionless freeboard (Rc/Hm0) range of 1 to 2. This is (much) lower compared to impact forces on vertical walls as calculated by the Shore Protection Manual. •Wave impacts on storm walls, caused by overtopping flows on a promenade at crest level of a smooth dike slope, are studied in this paper.•Three test campaigns are carried out in different laboratories at different scales.•A direct approach links the impacts to the hydraulic parameters•An indirect approach links the overtopping volumes, to the flow parameters and then to the impact forces.•The full distribution of all impacts during a storm is given, with formulae to calculate it.•All approaches are compared to the measurements and to each other.•A section of model and scale effects between the different test campaigns is given.