Sensitivity Assessment of Composite Breakwaters to Hydraulic and Geotechnical Parameters

Breakwaters are the important and the costly ones of the marine structures. Composite breakwater is one of the common types in the world. Because of the sensitivity of composite breakwaters to environmental conditions, also construction costs, difficulty of repair and maintenance and importance of equipments on and behind the breakwater, design of composite breakwater must be very accurate. Goal of present research is assessment of effect of environmental parameters in design of composite breakwater. In this way sensitivity of geometric parameters of this structure to hydraulic specifications such as period, height and direction of waves and depth of water, has been analyzed. Also effect of sea bed soil type in dimensions of this structure has been evaluated. Comparison between analytical and experimental formulas in evaluation of wave forces on composite breakwaters has been done. The results of this research have been expressed in some applied graphs for evaluation of effects of hydraulic and geotechnic parameters in dimensions of composite breakwaters. Thus results of present work can be used for attentively design of these structures in different environmental conditions of sea.