ABSTRACT
Sloping dikes or embankments are widely used along rivers and coasts. They all need protection against flooding and direct waves. In particular, wave overtopping has always been of principal concern for such structures. This research is aimed at investigating such processes in order to reduce hazards caused by wave overtopping and consequent dike erosion. Experimental small-scale laboratory tests, conducted in the Water Engineering Lab at University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Italy, are presented. Dam-break waves have been produced by the fast opening of a gate in a rectangular channel, thus propagating over an initially trapezoidal-shaped sediment dike. The experimental results have been compared against the ones obtained through the numerical integration of a depth-integrated two-phase model.
