Wave Runup 



72. Wave runup is defined as the elevation above SWL reached by an 

 incident wave (Figure 8) and is a subject of great coastal engineering inter- 

 est. For example, beach face change is directly controlled by the position of 

 the water level (Larson and Kraus 1989) , and the design height of coastal 

 structures is determined by the amount of runup on the structure. The follow- 

 ing paragraphs summarize selected equations developed from wave runup studies. 



Figure 8. Definition sketch of wave runup 



Review 



73. Miche (1951) obtained an equation for runup R normalized by 

 deepwater wave height on a uniform slope: 



1/2 



2f) 



(50) 



where (i is the beach slope in radians . Miche determined Equation 50 

 theoretically for linear standing (nonbreaking) waves on a slope. 



74. Saville (1956) conducted laboratory experiments and measured runup 

 of monochromatic waves on smooth-faced structures (structure slopes of 1/1.5, 

 1/2.25, 1/3, 1/4, and 1/6) on a 1/10 plane slope. He also measured runup on 

 1/30 and 1/10 plane slopes. Saville combined the results with previously 

 acquired data (Saville 1955) taken under conditions of 1/3 and 1/1.5 smooth- 

 faced structures, 1/1.5 step faced wall, 1/1.5 riprap -faced wall, vertical 

 wall, and recurved wall. The latter tests were also fronted by a 1/10 plane 



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