Experimental study on wave-induced scour in front of sloping coastal structures and the influence of bed protection

The erosion of the seabed in front of coastal structures induced by waves can lead to multiple types of failure in stability or function of the structure. On this topic most research has been done into erosion in front of vertical structures (e.g. Xie, 1981). For sloping structures a knowledge gap exists in the understanding of the processes that lead to erosion of seabed material directly in front of the structure. Available studies for sloping structures were done with regular waves (e.g. Sumer and Fredsøe, 2000) or for a low number of irregular waves (e.g. Den Bieman et al., 2019). In this study the main parameters that lead to development of scour in front of sloping structures are investigated. Additionally a method is presented that will help with predicting maximum scour depth when designing a sloping coastal structure.