Stability of breakwater roundhead protected with a Cubipod single-layer armor

This paper presents an analysis of the stability of breakwater roundheads protected with a Cubipod single-layer armor. This model was then subjected to a battery of 22 physical model tests, and the most significant variables were observed to be wave steepness (spr), the radius divided by the nominal diameter (Rn), and the relationship between the radius and wavelength at the breakwater toe (R/Lrp). It has been demonstrated that there are two behavioral patterns for stability according to the parameter R/Lrp, with large roundheads defined as R/Lrp ≥ 0.15 and small roundheads as R/Lrp < 0.15. The stability reserve (SR [%]) was also calculated and it was demonstrated that this parameter decreased with an increase in steepness. A design criterion was also defined based on the stability reserve (SR [%]) of these kinds of structures. The stability coefficient (Kd) was calculated to account for initial damage, destruction, and the design stage, and it was verified that this parameter depends primarily on wave steepness, to which it is directly proportional. Finally, a comparison with double-layer armors was made confirming that under certain conditions, the single-layer ones have the same stability as the ones with double layer armors, but their behavior is more rigid.