Wave Run-Up on the Zeebrugge Rubble Mound Breakwater: Full-Scale Measurement Results

Full-scale wave run-up measurements have been carried out on the Zeebrugge rubble mound breakwater in the frame of the EU-funded OPTICREST project. Wave run-up has been measured by a run-up gauge and by a so-called spi-derweb system. The dimensionless wave run-up value Ru2%/Hm0 measured in Zeebrugge equals 1.77 for Iribarren number ξom = 3.63. An (apparent) influence of the water level on wave run-up has been observed. The porosity of the armor layer has a significant influence on wave run-up and may explain the dependency of wave run-up on the water level observed in Zeebrugge. Full-scale measurement results have been compared to literature data. The full-scale wave run-up data are in good agreement with the existing results of wave run-up tests with rip-rap slopes but are clearly higher than other wave run-up data resulting from tests with rubble mound breakwaters.