Extreme Responses in Coastal Engineering using NewWave on Steep Structures

COAST Engineering Research Group - active project
Lighthouse
Title: Extreme Responses in Coastal Engineering using NewWave on Steep Structures.Start date:January 2018
Funder: EPSRC – 3 years
PhD student: William Mortimer
Supervisors: Professor Alison Raby (DoS) – University of Plymouth, Professor Deborah Greaves – University of Plymouth, Dr Alessandro Antonini – TU Delft, Professor Ton van den Bremer – University of Oxford, Dr Stuart Stripling – University of Plymouth

Near vertical breakwaters, wind turbines and lighthouses play a critical role in the defence of coastal populations, generation of electricity and provision of navigational aids. These structures are inevitably located in high energy hostile environments where a single extreme wave event could be responsible for the global failure of a structure. A changing climate is increasing the likelihood and severity of these extreme events.

To ensure safe, resilient and economic design of steep structures requires an accurate description of the largest probable wave run-up, overtopping and loading. 

EXCESS uses a physical-modelling approach to investigate extreme responses on steep structures, extending work from the successful EPSRC-funded ENFORCE project, where responses on sloped structures were the focus. Utilising NewWave as a design wave, EXCESS aims to provide a greater understanding of the most extreme responses and identify the exact conditions responsible for the most extreme wave-structure interactions.