The Design Philosophy for a Vertical Breakwater

A consistent risk-based design philosophy for vertical breakwaters is proposed. The design philosophy consists of a two-step approach. The first step is the definition of the main function of the breakwater, which leads to a definition of failure. The second step is the choice of the acceptable safety level. This may be done on the basis of comparison to existing codes, or by applying economic optimisation. Both methods are introduced in the paper. A consistent risk-based design philosophy for vertical breakwaters is proposed. The design philosophy consists of a two-step approach. The first step is the definition of the main function of the breakwater, which leads to a definition of failure. The second step is the choice of the acceptable safety level. This may be done on the basis of comparison to existing codes, or by applying economic optimisation. Both methods are introduced in the paper