Modeling Wave Overtopping on a Seawall with XBeach, IH2VOF, and Mase Formulas

The advances in computational fluid dynamics have made numerical modeling a reliable complementary tool to the traditional physical modeling in the study of the wave overtopping phenomenon. This paper addresses overtopping on a seawall by combining the numerical models XBeach (non-hydrostatic and Surfbeat modes) and IH2VOF, and the Mase formulas. This work is structured in two phases: (i) phase I assesses the performance of numerical models and formulas in modeling wave run-up and overtopping on a seawall for a solid profile bottom and representative hydro-morphologic conditions of a study site in the Portuguese west coast; (ii) phase II investigates the effect of the profile bottom variation in the overtopping phenomenon for extreme maritime storm field conditions of the study site, considering a solid bottom and a varying sandy bottom. The results indicate that XBeach underestimates the wave energy, and the frequency and intensity of the overtopping occurrences predicted by IH2VOF; the numerical models’ run-up and overtopping discharge predictions are overestimated by the Mase formulas, in simplified and in storm field conditions; and the variation of the bottom morphology throughout the storm event greatly influences the XBeach predictions, while the Mase results are mostly influenced by the bottom roughness.